


Favors (Percico AU) Completed

by darkreader1108



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, F/M, HoO - Freeform, M/M, Percico - Freeform, Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo - Freeform, jacksangelo, percy jackson - Freeform, percy jackson/ annabeth chase break up, pernico - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 35,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8820781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkreader1108/pseuds/darkreader1108
Summary: Percy is failing Italian and needs help before he gets kicked off the swim team. Nico's dad surprised him with a vacation to the beach, but Nico needs to learn how to swim before he leaves. (This story was meant to be a happy story with very few drama elements. Overall it's a Percico love story.)*First story, feedback please.*I do not own Rick Riordan's characters.This story is a High School AU. Characters might be slightly out of character. Since they are normal people in this story, it will be hard to capture their real personalities. I'll try my best though. Thanks for your understanding.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a year ago on Wattpad. My first story so please know that my writing has improved.

(Percy's POV)

I groaned and shut my locker. "I hate school. Why is it only Tuesday?" I asked Jason as we walked to our next class. Jason was a good friend of mine. We became friends in 9th grade when I accidentally spilled chocolate milk in his lap on the first day of school. It takes a lot to be friends with someone who embarrassed you on your first day of high school.

"I don't know man, but stop complaining. Just two more years and then we're done with high school. You can make it." Jason said with an amused smile. I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, two more years of high school then four years of college. Sure, there is nothing to complain about" I said sarcastically and sat down in my seat. Jason sat beside me and rolled his blue eyes to mock my earlier action.

The bell rang and our English teacher, Mrs. Carson, stood up in the front of the class. "Good morning class, today you will get a new assignment." The class groaned. Mrs. Carson glared at us before continuing. "You will read the book Huckleberry Finn and write a book report in cursive writing by next Monday." The class groaned again. I hated cursive writing with a passion. I couldn't read it and I couldn't write it. I could barely read print due to my bad case of dyslexia.

"I will pass out the books and then we will get started" Mrs. Carson declared as she walked to the back of the classroom. I sighed and slumped back in my seat.

...

The bell finally rang to free me from English. I gathered my stuff and walked out while Mrs. Carson reminded us about the assignment. My next class was gym so I put my stuff in my locker and started my long walk across the school to gym. "Hey Percy," Grover said as he caught up to me. "Oh hey, Grover, what's up?" Grover Underwood was my best friend. He had brown eyes and brown hair with a slight beard.

"I asked Juniper on a date today," he said with a giddy smile. Juniper was a girl in his math class that he had a crush on. I thought they were perfect for each other. They were both down to earth people and were obsess with nature. "Oh really? What did she say?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer due to the look on his face.

"She said yes and gave me her number" Grover cheered. I smiled and pat him on the back. "Congratulations man. When's your date?" "Friday. I still don't know where to take her, though" he said as we approached the locker room. I laughed, "well, good luck with that."

He walked over to his locker and I went to mine. I changed into my gym clothes and then looked over where Nico di Angelo's locker was. Nico was a smaller boy who was a year younger than me. He was born in Italy but moved here when he was about 8. For an Italian, you wouldn't think he would be so pale.

I met him when he was ten; he had a sister back then. But she died in a car accident a few months after. He wasn't social anymore. People didn't talk to him anyways because his father was forensic. The fact that he studied dead bodies freaked people out.

He looked up at me and I noticed I was staring. I looked down and walked out into the gym. Everyone was lining up in our P.E lines while Coach Hedge yelled at everyone to be quiet. Once all the students were lined up, Coach Hedge started to talk. "OKAY CUPCAKES, tomorrow we start a new unit. But it is a secret. Today we are going to run Track."

Everybody started to complain. The track wasn't so bad; Coach Hedge always wanted us to run around the whole building but only stood in one place to yell at people for being too slow. So people started to only run when they were in front of him. It was a small loophole but didn't make it any less miserable. "ALRIGHT CUPCAKES, LET'S MOVE" Coach Hedge yelled. We all slugged out the door.

...

Lunch finally came around and I sat at my usual table with my friends and my girlfriend, Annabeth. Annabeth and I met each other when we were ten. We had been together for two months. Annabeth was a very smart girl; she always loved to learn which I didn't get. Her stormy gray eyes and long blonde hair added to her attraction.

I really liked Annabeth. I never fell I love with her, for all the years I've known her. I never told her I loved her because I never did. I cared about her. I liked her. But love just seemed like a too strong of a word to describe what I felt. "Hey Percy" she greeted. I smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey Annabeth, I'm tired," I said and took a sip of my water. "Don't you have swim practice today?" she asked, getting a spoonful of corn.

I was on the swim team for the school. Captain actually. I loved to swim, the water made me feel alive. It was like the only thing I could do perfectly without messing up. "Yeah, but that's fun." Annabeth laughed, "Right." I glared at the sarcasm in her voice. She just shrugged and went back to eating. Jason sat on the other side of the table a few seats down with his girlfriend, Piper. Piper was a beautiful girl with short brown hair and eyes that seemed to change colors. Like Annabeth, she didn't need makeup to look pretty.

Jason waved at me then continued to talk to Leo. Leo was the joker of the group and had a girlfriend, Calypso, who was way too pretty to like Leo. But she did and very much so. I sighed and looked ahead to the other side of the lunchroom. Nico sat with his friend, Will Solace. He was playing with his food with a thoughtful expression on his face. He always looked sad and out of place, the only person who really talked to him was Will. I had a strong desire to go over there and make him laugh.

I had always tried to have a conversation with the guy but, he always acted like he had something better to do. I missed talking to him, a lot. He was always very interesting. It always seemed like he would guard himself. From what, I didn't know. His dark hair and brown eyes stood out against his pale skin. He always wore black clothing. He also had dark circles under his eyes suggesting his didn't sleep much.

I looked into his chocolate colored eyes; a fuzzy numbing feeling went over me. just then someone walked in front of me, breaking our eye contact. He was staring back at me with a puzzled look. I didn't realize the he was looking back at me. I quickly shifted my gaze to my food. My meatloaf was not looking so appetizing.

I looked up at Annabeth; a weird feeling came over me. For the last week of our relationship, I've been feeling different. Our kisses lost its spark, and the amazing feeling I use to get when she looked at me was gone. Our relationship started to feel meaningless. It scared me because I really did like Annabeth, and I still wanted to be her friend, but I wanted out of the boyfriend zone.

My thoughts continued to swirl in my mind for the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

(Nico's POV)

Will was talking to me about what happened in his music class. I wasn't paying him much attention, just swirling my fork around in my mashed potatoes. I couldn't get a pair of green eyes out of my head. The same pair of eyes I fell for when I was just ten years old. Percy Jackson had made a big affect on my life, in both good and bad ways. Will knew about my secret, he was the only person I allowed myself to get close to. It hurt to be friends with Percy, so I mostly ignored him.

"Percy's looking at you" Will whispered into my ear. I looked up into the sea-green eyes that were responsible for my heartache. I was expecting him to look away at any second but he didn't. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he continued to stare at me. I stared back with curiosity. Someone walked in front of him and he blinked. He looked down at his tray then looked over to his left where his girlfriend sat.

Percy and Annabeth got together two months ago, shattering and hope I had left. Annabeth was a very nice person, though, I couldn't hate her. Her blonde hair and good-natured smile, along with her personality made it obvious why he chose her over me. I sighed and laid my fork down. "Aw, don't be sad Nico. You'll find someone" Will said, giving me a weak smile.

It wasn't like I didn't want to believe him; it was because people didn't like me in general. My dad was forensic; he studied dead bodies to find the cause of death or evidence after a crime. Apparently, helping solve murder cases was creepy and disgusting. My dad was the only parent I had, my mom died when I was five. I also lost my older sister when I was ten, so people use that stuff against me to say my family is cursed with death. People could be so stupid it surprised me.

"Hey, can I come home with you? My family has been driving me crazy lately" Will asked, trying to balance a fork on his nose. I smiled a little, "sure, I'll be home alone for a while anyways." The fork fell off his face and landed in his peas, splashing him with pea juice. He frowned and wiped his cheek with a napkin, "Hazel won't be there?" I shook my head, "no, she joined an art club and will be there for a few hours."

He nodded and tried again to get the fork to balance.

...

I sighed in relief and leaned against the seat of Will's car. The end of a school day was always my favorite part. Percy sat beside me in our Italian class, which was my last class of the day. His smell was intoxicating, even though it wasn't always pleasant. Every now and then he would ask me a question or try to talk to me before class starts.

Will cranked up the car and started to pull out. "What do you want to do when we get to your house?" Will asked, driving out of the school parking lot. "I don't know, watch TV? Walk in the woods? There isn't much to do."

"We'll find something" he responded before turning on the radio. I didn't live too far away so I didn't have to put up with Will's bad music taste for too long. Thank goodness.

When we finally got to my house, I got out of the car before I strangled Will to death. He sang the whole time; he had better consider himself lucky that I didn't knock him out. I unlocked the door and let him in before closing it behind me. "You want to watch TV?" Will asked, picking up the remote. "I'm too hungry to watch TV right now," I said, getting a pomegranate out of the fridge. "Why fruit?" Will sat down at the kitchen table beside me. I cut into the pomegranate before answering.

"I love fruit," I said simply, scooping out some seeds. "But, what's wrong pizza?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Nothing, I just wanted a pomegranate." He narrowed his eyes at me before asking, "Can we order a pizza?" I sighed, "Sure, as along as you pay for it." He smiled and got his phone out.

Will walked into the living room to order his pizza. Eating my fruit, what happened in the lunchroom popped back into my mind. Percy's green eyes staring into mine with a far away look in them; he did that in the gym too. I was starting to get self-conscious. Will came back and sat back down in his seat. He drummed his fingers on the table and sighed, "you want to watch a movie?" I nodded, a movie sounded good.

...

After Will ate his pizza and left, Hazel came home. "Hey Nico, how was your day?" she plopped down on the couch beside me. "Fine, I guess. How was your art club?" Hazel was my other sister. Half-sister, it's a long story. She had dark colored skin and golden eyes. Her cinnamon brown hair was shoulder length and curly.

"Fun, as usual. When is Dad getting home?" I sighed and looked at the clock. "Uh, he should be home any minute now." The sound of the front door opening and my dad's voice came a moment later. "I'm home," he said and walked into the living room.

My dad had black hair and pale skin, basically looking like a corpse. He was always working and barely spent time with us, or in general. He was a loving father, he just spent too much time with the dead. "Hey dad" Hazel greeted with a smile. "What's for dinner?" I asked. He sat down on the couch between me and my sister and sighed.

"What do you want?" he slung his arm around my shoulders. I frowned and pulled it off before answering his question, "spaghetti." He looked at me, "whatever my baby boy wants" he cooed and pinched my chin. I scowled and yanked my chin from his hand. He knew I hated that, he just loved to mess with me.

I glared at him, but he just ruffled my hair and got up off the couch. "Spaghetti sound good to you Hazel?"

"I love spaghetti" Hazel answered and followed him to the kitchen. I just sat there, alone with my thoughts and the voices of my sister and dad in the background.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3

Percy's POV

I paced back and forth in my living room trying to figure how to let Annabeth down easily. Was there a nice way to tell someone you aren't happy being with them? Annabeth was an amazing person but, I didn't feel right about being in a relationship with her. She was on her way over and it made my stomach turn in knots. I had to figure out a way to break up with Annabeth without ruining our friendship.

A knock sounded at the door. I took a deep breath to see if I could get rid of the knots in my chest, but they only seemed to expand with each breath. I opened the door of my mom's small apartment to see Annabeth in an orange t-shirt, gray jacket, and jeans. "Hey Annabeth, come in," I said nervously. She smiled and sat on the couch. I sat beside her awkwardly, thinking rapidly on how to begin. "Um, Annabeth, I have something I will like to talk about." She frowned, "what's wrong Percy?"

"I... well, you know that I... how do I say this?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, "out with it Seaweed Brain." I sighed, "I like you more as a friend. The whole relationship thing isn't working for me anymore. I did feel something for you before but lately... things have been different."

Annabeth sat there, her gray eyes held and look of thought and sadness. "How long have you felt this way?" I was looking at my hands when I answered, "about a week. I've thought about it a lot and... I realized that I don't feel the way I'm supposed to. I'm sorry." Annabeth sighed, "don't be. If that's what you want then... I guess that's it. It was better when we were just friends anyway. I just hope we can still be friends."

"Of course, I don't want to lose you as a friend. We practically grew up together." I said and scooted closer to her on the couch. "So, no hard feelings?" Annabeth shook her head and gave me a smile, "no, I guess not." Annabeth's phone rang suddenly, making us jump. She got her phone and flipped it open, "Hello? Oh hi, Piper! I'm at Percy's apartment. Okay, we'll be there. Bye. Piper and Jason want to meet up to get ice cream. You want to come?"

I smiled, "Sure, let me get my jacket." Once I got my jacket, Annabeth and I walked out of the apartment, as just friends.

...

Nico's POV

Everyone was acting weird that day. I walked passed a group of students that morning and I couldn't hear everything they were saying but I did here Percy's name. Percy was very well-known and liked so if anything happened everyone would know. "Hey Nico" Will greeted from my right. "Hey, what's up with everyone today?" Will looked confused for a moment, then a light bulb seemed to go off.

"Didn't you hear? Percy and Annabeth broke up yesterday." My eyes went wide, I stopped walking and looked at him in disbelief, "What?" I exclaimed. He laughed, "Yes, Percy Jackson is now single." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought Percy liked Annabeth. But I knew I shouldn't get too worked up about it, I knew I didn't have a chance with him.

My mood dropped back down and I started walking again. "Hey, can I borrow your history notes?" Will asked. "We just came from history, didn't you pay attention?" I opened my locker to put my history book in, I had gym next. "Yes but I couldn't keep up and I can't fail another history test. Please?" I sighed and gave him my notebook. "Fine, but I want it back tomorrow." He nodded and thanked me before going off to his next class.

The gym was one of my most hated classes ever. Coach Hedge was super strict and yelled at us just because he loved to yell. I wasn't very athletic, I could run fast and I wasn't weak but sports aren't my thing. Percy was in my gym class, which stressed me out. I walked into the boys' locker room to the usual chaos; sweaty teenagers throwing jockstraps at each other. Sometimes, I wondered why I was into guys and not girls.

Opening my locker, I got out my gym clothes. I hated changing, my skinny pale body was just something else for people to make fun of me for. I looked around and made sure no one was looking before quickly pulling my shirt off and slipping on the orange school shirt. With an easy trick I learned from home, I changed from my black, baggy jeans to a pair of black gym shorts.

I turned around to put my clothes into my locker. "Um, Nico, you dropped something," a familiar voice said awkwardly from behind me. I took a sharp intake of air and spun around quickly, careful not to meet his eyes. Percy was holding my student ID card, which fell out of my pocket when I was changing.

I slipped it out of his fingers, "thank you" I mumbled. He was quiet, I started to wonder what he was doing. I looked up slowly at his face, making sure I wasn't showing any emotion in my features. He had a warm smile on his lips, his green eyes shining with interest. "So how's your dad?" he asked suddenly, making me jump. "Um yeah, he's fine. He's... busy." I mentally grimaced at my answer.

"Oh, cool," he said. He then started looking around awkwardly like he was trying to find something else to say. I was never good at talking to people, especially Percy. "I... got to go," I said and shut my locker before walking quickly out of the locker room.

Once I was in the hallway I started to breathe normally. I got in my P.E line before Couch Hedge started yelling at me. Percy came out of the locker room and got in line too. My eyes avoided him, lucky he was five people down from me. "LET'S GO CUPCAKES! TIMES A WASTING!" Coach Hedge yelled into the locker room.

Coach Hedge was a middle aged man and was 5 feet tall. He was short but you defiantly didn't want to fight him. He dealt with the boys while Miss Forman dealt with the girls. I didn't know what's worst, having a coach who yelled a lot or a coach who cried a lot because she was 46 and wasn't married yet.

"OKAY CUPCAKES, LISTEN UP! The boys are starting a new unit today, basketball." Cheers erupted from the boys; I just crossed my arms and groaned quietly. Coach Hedge got the carts of basketballs out of the supplies closet. "GET IN TEAMS OF SIX!" coach ordered over the talking of the kids forming their teams.

"Hey Nico, you want to be on our team? We need another player." Percy asked from behind me. He was the last person I wanted to be on a team with but I knew no one else would ask 'the death kid' so I didn't have much of a choice. I sighed, "Yeah, I guess." The team consisted of Eddy Duncan, David Baxter, Ethan Farley and Alvin Floyd. They were okay I guess, I didn't hate any of them so far.

"Hey David, can you go get the clipboard?" Ethan asked. David nodded and walked off to retrieve the paper we needed to sign our names on to say we were a team. "So are you good at basketball?" Percy asked, leaning against the wall beside me. "I haven't played in years," I said and looked down at my skull shaped ring Bianca gave me before she died. Bianca and I use to play this game to help me keep my room clean when I was little.

She taught me to use my toy box and clothes hamper as a basketball hoop so I would try to get the item in the basket. My room was always clean and I became to love basketball. We would go to the park every weekend to play, I was pretty good at it for a nine-year-old. But Bianca died when I was ten; I didn't play basketball anymore.

The clipboard got passed over to me so I signed my name right under Percy's.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4

Percy's POV

I was trying to write my book report in cursive but I couldn't seem to get the F right. I watched the movie Huckleberry Finn instead of reading the book. Annabeth was over earlier that day trying to make me read it but an hour passed and I only got through three pages. Most of it were because of my dyslexia but part of it was because I was lazy and complained a lot.

"Percy, can you come in here please?" my mom called from the living room. I sighed and set my pencil down. I was glad for a reason to stop the torture. Upon walking into the living room, I saw my mother and Paul, her boyfriend, sitting on the couch. Paul was an English teacher at my high school. He taught the senior class so I didn't have him yet.

"Yeah, Mom?" I asked and sat beside her. My mom and I were very close, closer than most teenagers and their moms. "We have some news, and we want your opinion on it" my mother explained. "Okay, what is it?" Judging by the tone in her voice, I knew it was serious. "What do you think about your mother and I getting married?" Paul asked.

My real dad left before I was born. My mother has married one time before but Gabe turned out to be an abusive jackass. But Paul Blofis was different. He worked hard, didn't smell like stale beer and he treated my mother like a princess. I liked him. I grinned at them and my mother's face lit up.

"I think it's a great idea," I said and hugged my mom. "Thank you, Percy," my mom said. I kissed her cheek and stood up to face Paul. "Welcome to the family," I said to him. He smiled, "thank you, Percy."

...

Nico bounced the basketball two times before shooting it into the basket. He didn't look like he was having a lot of fun, though. In fact, he looked annoyed. He was one of our best players, barely ever missed, but he was obviously not enjoying it.

I didn't know why but lately I couldn't seem to get Nico out of my mind. I just felt the need to talk to him. Alvin passed the ball to me. I got it and threw it into the net; another point for us. "TIMES UP CUPCAKES! HIT THE SHOWERS! YOU ALL STINK!" Coach Hedge yelled. Everyone stopped playing and walked to the locker room.

...

Italian was so hard, I didn't even know why I picked that second language. Jason took Spanish and that seemed easier. "I'm going to hand out your tests from last week. Some of you did pretty well, as of others, I'm disappointed in. Learning a second language is hard but it all matters on how much work you put in it. Work harder; I want to see improvement." Ms. Powell announced as she started to hand out papers.

I knew I failed. I didn't know half the words on that test. Ms. Powell came by my desk and laid the paper in front of me. It had more red on it than the black of the original text and had a big red D circled on the top. I sighed and leaned back against my chair. I needed to get better grades so I could stay on the swim team and avoid my mom getting disappointed in me.

"As always Nico, best in the class," Ms. Powell said from my right. Nico sat beside me, looking at his perfect grade. Nico always got A's in that class, he was from Italy. I thought maybe I should ask if he could tutor me. It wouldn't hurt, I needed the help. There were only a few minutes of school left so I planned to ask him after class.

"Okay everyone, the next test is on Friday. Study hard and have a nice weekend" Ms. Powell said as the bell rang. I gathered my stuff up and put it all in my backpack. I looked up to see Nico walking out of the classroom so I quickly got up and shuffled through the crowds of people. I knew Will Solace drove him home everyday so once I reached the parking lot I looked for them.

I spotted them walking towards Will's car in the middle of the parking lot. "Hey Nico" I called and started to jog over to them. They stopped then turned to look at me. "Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked once I got to them. Nico looked down at his feet before looking up at me, "Sure Percy, what do you need?"

"Um, well I was wondering since you know Italian if you wouldn't mind helping me?" I requested nervously. "Like tutor you?" Nico asked with a weird expression on his face. I nodded and prayed that he would say yes. "What did you make on your test?" he questioned. I pursed my lips, "65." Nico's eyebrows drew together and his mouth formed an O. "Ouch. Nico help the guy. I'm gonna go start the car" Will said then went to his car. Nico sighed, "I'll think about it."

"Okay, I would appreciate the help. Let me give you my number." I offered. He nodded and got his phone out of his pocket. He opened up a new contact and handed me the phone. I put my number in his contacts and handed it back to him. "Thanks" he mumbled. "I guess I'll talk to you later," I said to him.

He nodded and walked over to Will's car, his dark colored hair moving slightly with the shallow wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment telling me how the story is. I would love your thoughts and feedback.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5

Nico's POV

"Why are you even thinking about it? You like the guy and he needs your help" Will exclaimed. I looked down at Percy's number on my screen, "but what if he finds out? He will be disgusted." Will sighed in annoyance, "look, he is single and out of all the people he could have asked he asked you for help. This is your chance Nico, don't let it rot."

I leaned my head back against the seat and looked out the window. We were already on the same team in P.E, I didn't need to spend more time with him. I could only hold back a secret for so long. "Besides," Will continued "Who says he can't like you back?" My fists clenched in my lap. "He won't like me back," I said, anger rose inside me.

"How do you know?" Will pushed. Why couldn't he just drop it? I looked over at him, I wanted him to see the anger in my eyes. "He's straight" I objected. Will glanced at me then looked back at the road. "Nico, people fall in love with the personality of the person, not with what gender they are."

How could I respond to that?" I didn't matter. Percy only wanted my help, that's it. "Nico" Will started, sparing me another glance. "Percy isn't a cruel person. So if it does slip, it's not like he with hate you. But he does need your help. Getting bad grades could get him kicked off the swim team."

That was true. I knew he loved to swim, I couldn't do that to him. "I'll think about it."

...

I poked at my pork chop again with my fork. I wasn't really hungry and my thoughts were running wild. I still hadn't made up my mind on tutoring Percy. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't seem to call. What if I did something stupid? I would never forgive myself. But if I didn't help him he could have gotten kicked off the team and then I would never forgive myself. Of course, he could have found someone else to teach him. But then I would be the bad friend who didn't want to do him a favor because of my own selfish reasons.

"Okay you two, I got some big news" my father announced from the other side of the dinner table. I peeked up at him through my bangs. "This summer, we are taking a one week trip to the beach," he said happily. Hazel gasped, "Really? When?" "The first week you get out of school" my dad answered. "I can't swim" I reminded him.

"Then learn. The activity center gives lessons." Great, that's all I needed. "Nico, it's your night to do the dishes," my father said as he got up and set his plate in the sink. I watched my dad leave the room. He was probably going to go take a shower. I knew I better start on the dishes, I had a book report due on Monday.

"Nico," Hazel said, catching my attention. "What are you thinking about?" It was a simple question, but the answer leads to something much deeper. Hazel didn't know about my crush on Percy, and I wasn't going to tell her either. She was in his group of friends. Don't get me wrong, I trusted her. But you can never be too careful. The fewer people who knew, the better.

"What do you mean?" I asked quickly and picked up our plates. She wouldn't fall for it, but it's worth a try. "Nico I'm not stupid. Tell me what's bothering you." She picked up the cups and brought them over to the sink. I sighed, I guessed telling her part of it wouldn't hurt. "Percy asked me to tutor him in Italian." She looked confused, "so why don't you?"

I quickly thought of the perfect reason. "Time. I don't have the time."

"But you don't have anything to do after school," she said and placed the plates in the dishwasher. "I have homework. And now I have swimming lessons" I retorted. I was trying to think of something else to use as an excuse. Hazel looked at me with a look that told me she wasn't buying it.

"If you don't want to tell me fine. But I do think it's a good idea." She pressed the buttons on the dishwasher. That was two people who wanted me to do it. But they didn't understand how painful it will be to look into those green eyes and accept the fact that he would never feel the same. I was just another friend to him.

I took a shaky breath, I had to finish that book report. Mrs. Carson wanted it written in cursive. I could already feel the headache.

...

"Thanks for the lift. You want to come in?" I asked Will. We pulled into the parking lot of the activity center. "No man I want to eat my cheeseburger," Will said and took a big bite of his cheeseburger. We picked up lunch on the way there. "Okay fine, I'll be back in a few minutes." I shut the car door and started to walk.

I was a little nervous about signing up for swim lessons. What if I drowned? What if my swim trunks came off while he is putting me in a position? I prayed that it wouldn't happen to me as I crossed the parking lot. I opened the front door to a big open space. In front of me were some stairs that went up to the library and work-out center. To my right was the hallway with the gym and break room. And to my left was the big room where two large swimming pools were.

By the stairs was the desk where a 30-year-old woman sat. "Excuse me, can I sign up for swimming lessons?" I asked her. She looked up at me and smiled. "Of course dear, just fills out this form and I'll get the instructor." I took the clipboard from her and got a pen out of the jar on the counter. The first thing I had to fill out was my full name. Nico di Angelo.

The door to the pool area opened. I looked up to see who my teacher would be and I instantly dropped my pen. Percy was standing there smiling at me. He was wearing a white tee-shirt and blue swim trunks. He was wet, so I could see right through his shirt. He made his way to me, brushing his damp bangs out of his eyes.

"Hey Nico, nice to see you here," he says with a kind smile. I felt the blood rushing to my face. "Hi, um... I wanted to... I... I dropped my pen." What the hell was that? Percy cocked his head to the side, his smile faltering. "I'll get it," he said and retrieved the pen from beside my right foot. "Here" he handed the pen out to me. I took it and mumbled, "Thanks."

"No problem. So uh, you want to sign up for the swimming lesson?" I nodded my head and looked down at the sheet that was still on the clipboard. "Well, come with me and we will figure out the perfect schedule." I nodded again and started walking back to the pool area.

The room smelled like chlorine and two big swimming pools laid side by side. The one on the left started from 4ft deep to 5ft deep. The one on the right went from 5and a half ft, to 7ft. The whole left wall was basically windows, they let the sunlight hit the water and turned it the same shade of green as Percy's eyes. I swear that boy was made for the water.

"We can go in here," Percy said and entered a room on the right. It was a small room like an office. Percy sat down at the desk, "you can pull that chair up and sit beside me" he offered. I didn't want to seem like a jerk considering how I had been acting over the week so I pulled the chair out beside him. "So you want to take swimming lessons, correct?" I nod sat in the chair.

"Well, let's make a deal. You tutor me in Italian, and I'll give you lessons for half the price. Deal?" "Can you do that?" I asked. He winked at me with a mischievous grin, "Sure, as long as you don't tell anyone." That seemed fair. I knew I would be spending double the amount of time with him but still, that way we could help each other out. "Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6

Chapter 6 (Percy's POV)

"Deal," he said and set his clipboard down on the desk. I smiled, that would work perfectly. I could teach him how to swim and he could help me with my grades. I was starting to think he would never call me. "Great. Now, let's make a schedule that will work for you. When do you want to do the tutoring?"

Nico sighed, "Um, when do you have your swim meetings?" He wasn't looking up at me,come to think of it, he hardly ever looked at me in the eye. "Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:00 to 4:30. And when we have a competition we practice Saturdays as well." He nods, "I can tutor you on Sunday. And two days after your practice."

I got a piece of paper and wrote down Sunday for a tutoring day. "Okay, that can work. Are Thursdays and Tuesdays okay with you? For the tutoring?" "Yeah, that's fine," Nico says quietly. "Good. Um, I can teach you Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, if that's okay with you."

"What time?" he asked, holding his head up a little more but still not looking at me."5:00 to 6:00?" He exhaled, "fine with me." I smiled and wrote down the time and days. "So, what has gotten you so interested in learning how to swim?" I asked. I thought that maybe I could loosen him up a bit. "My family is going on vacation to the beach. I still don't know how to swim."

"Oh, cool. When is your trip?" I gave him a copy of the schedule for the tutoring and lessons. "The first of June" he replied and accepted the paper. "Okay well, that means we have two and a half months to get you ready." He frowned, "how long is it going to take?" "Oh, not long. About twelve lessons. It depends on you though." He nods, but said nothing.

I couldn't help but look at him. His hair was messy, but in a way, neat. It framed his face perfectly. For the first time since we entered the office, he looked up at me, meeting my eyes just for a second before looking away. "Do you want to begin the tutoring tomorrow, or just wait unit Monday for swimming lessons?" he asked, picking up his form and filling it out.

"We can wait until Monday. I think that would be best. When you are finished with your form that would be it." He nods and continued to write down the information. He didn't say much anymore. When he was ten, all he could do was ask questions and talk about this card game he liked. To the honest, he annoyed the crap out of me. But I would have picked that Nico any day over that sad version of him.

He signed his signature at the bottom and handed the clipboard to me along with the pen. "Thank you. I guess I'll see you Monday" I said, getting up to walk him out. I didn't want him to go though. I wanted him to talk to me. I wanted to spend time with him to catch up on the five years he barely talked to me. But I knew we would be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks so I couldn't complain.

Nico's POV

I slammed the door to Will's car shut, making him jump. "Dude, what happened?" I sighed and buckled my seatbelt. I couldn't believe Percy and I would be spending almost everyday together. "Percy is my teacher" I mumbled. Will's jaw dropped, "are you serious?" I nodded, wondering bitterly to myself why it had to be him. Out of all people who could swim it had to be Percy motherfucking Jackson to teach me.

"Wow. So does this mean you are going to tutor him?" Will asked and started to car. I closed my eyes and exhaled before nodding again. I knew the next few weeks would be torture. Having to deal with his endearing personality and shining smile would be too much. Still, part of me was glad things worked out the way they did. I just hoped that I wouldn't mess things up for good.

(Monday)

I was so nervous my body was shaking. But school wasn't even over yet. I still had like five more hours until my lesson but I couldn't seem to relax. How the hell was I supposed to relax with the fact that Percy Jackson would be teaching my how to swim in five hours? I took another shaky breath at the thought. I was about to see Percy in a minute.

We were competing against another team today. I didn't know how I could focus on a basketball game though. I didn't care if we won every game or not but I didn't want to make a fool out of myself in front of Percy. I thought maybe if I tried to focus on the game and try to forget the lesson then maybe I would be okay. Duh. I walked in the locker room and went straight to my locker. I didn't look around because I did not want to see Percy just yet. Not while my nerves were out of wack.

"Hey Nico," a voice called. I sighed in relief that it wasn't Percy. Eddy Duncan was standing behind me, already dressed. "I wanted to let you know that the Red Dragons are really good so, good luck. You are our best player" he said. The Red Dragons was the team we were competing with. We were the Green Tigers.

"Thanks. You too" I nodded in his direction. He smiled and walked off. I didn't know how I felt about being labeled as the best player. I was glad I didn't suck, but basketball was a sore subject for me. It reminded me too much of my past and late sister. Percy entered the locker room talking to Grover. Grover was on the Red Dragons team. Percy said something to him and they had a competitive stare down.

Finally, they went their separate ways. Percy's eyes made contact with mine. His smirk he had with Grover turned into a sweet smile. My heart was fluttering with nerves as he made his way over. I quickly shoved my normal clothes into my locker. "Hey Nico. Excited about the game?"

"Yeah, of course." Wow, that didn't even sound convincing, I thought. "Uh, do I still have my swimming lesson today?" I asked trying to break the awkwardness I had just created. "Yeah, 5:00; you are still coming right?" he questioned. I thought I heard a hint of worry in his words. "Yes, I am. I just wanted to make sure." I rubbed my arm and looked down. But Percy just smiled like he was enjoying our conversation. "Good, you are the only one I'm teaching right now by the way." I tried my best not to let the heat rising in my cheeks get to its destination.

"Cool. Um, you should get ready, we start in two minutes" I reminded him. He got this look on his face like he forgot where we were. "Oh, right. I'll see you out there" he says awkwardly and walked over to his locker. He scratched the back of his head, making his pitch black hair move with his fingers.

I sighed deeply, trying to get rid of the knots in my stomach. The way he had been acting lately was killing me. On my way to the door, I glanced back at him. The toned muscles in his tan back moved as he fondled with his gym shirt. A shiver ran through me. I thought it would be best to leave the locker room before anything bad happened.

I opened the door to the gym and see everyone getting in their teams. Eddy, Alvin, David and Ethan were already together and waiting for us. "Where's Percy?" Ethan asked me. "Getting dressed" I answered, looking around to see the Red Dragons staring us down a few feet away.

I noticed my nerves have calmed down. For the first time ever, talking to Percy actually made me feel better. "Okay guys, what's the plan?" Percy's voice said from behind me. We huddled up and decided the best way to go is Percy, Alvin and I will have the ball as much as possible. Percy wasn't bad at basketball. Of course, he was about 5'9 and pretty fast.

Alvin was also good. He was on the school basketball team for three years so he was great at it. The other three were okay; Eddy was the only one that you really didn't want to have the ball. He was more of a runner with bad aim. I looked back over to the Red Dragons to really see who was on the team.

Grover Underwood was a good guy. He would never even hurt a fly. Seriously. Clayton Fox, along with his two friends, Jared Hudson and Reese Luther, were the ones responsible for the rumor of my family's death curse. They were also the ones who made my 9th year a living hell. I'm not a very forgiving person.

The other two members, Elliot Harvey and Franklyn James, were okay. I barely knew them. A whistle blew and Coach Hedge's voice filled the air. "LISTEN UP CUPCAKES! JUST IN CASE ANY OF YOU DON'T KNOW, THE BLUE DOGS VS THE ORANGE RHINOS. THE RED DRAGONS VS THE GREEN TIGERS. THE YELLOW LIONS VS THE BLACK PANTHERS! WINNERS OF EACH GAME GET BRAGGING RIGHTS!" Coach Hedge yelled and blew his whistle again.

The Red Dragons walked over to where we were standing by our basketball hoop. Clayton stared at me with a sneer. I stared back with all the anger and intensity I could muster. P.E games didn't really matter to me. It was just twelve kids in the same gym class going against each other. But winning that game meant everything to me. I wanted to make Clayton pay. I gave him a black eye in 9th grade but it wasn't enough. Not for everything he'd done to me.

"Hey Death Boy, are you ready for this?" Clayton taunted with that sneer still on his face. I gave him a sarcastic smile, "whenever you're ready, Asshole." His sneer turned into a look of hatred. "Okay everyone let's start," Percy said, bouncing the ball over to Alvin. With one last look to Clayton, I walked over to my position. As the game started, Alvin passed the ball over Percy, but Jared stepped in the way and caught it instead.

Jared ran over to the other side, bouncing the ball before shooting it and earning their first point. Clayton gave Jared a high five, making eye contact with me while doing so. I glared in his direction and made a promise to myself that at some point I'll push him. Reese had the ball; he dogged Ethan's attack but made the mistake of passing to early. Percy caught it and made our first shot, making us tied.

David then took the ball, but before he could pass it Clayton grabbed it. I saw his every move before he made it. He made the pass to Elliott, who then scored them another two points. That meant we were four to two. Grover took up the ball and passed it over to Clayton. I wasn't about to let them make another shot so I watched his movements carefully. At the right moment, I swooped in and stole it in mid pass. I made a shot and got us tied with four points each.

I couldn't help but to smile at the look on Clayton's face. The rest of game went like that. Every move one team made was countered by the other team. By the end, we were tied, sixty to sixty. There was about two minutes left before we had to stop and there was no way I was going to settle for a tie.

Franklyn had the ball, he passed it to Clayton. Everything seemed to go in slow motion once Clayton caught the ball. I saw that he was going for the winning shot so I stepped in and used my body to push him out of the way and stole the ball. I passed the ball to Percy and he threw it, the ball passed through the net a second before Coach Hedge blew his whistle. We won by two points.

"TIMES UP CUPCAKES! YOU GOT TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE BELL RINGS!" Coach Hedge roared and blew his ear-splitting whistle again. Our team exchanged high fives in victory, we won a tough game and we were all happy about it. I looked over at Clayton to see his reaction to me using a foul move and winning. His fists were balled by his sides, his face was red and the vein in his neck was popping.

"You cheated!" he yelled as he and his teammates made their way over. "No I didn't" I said defensively. I was a great liar, but everyone knew what I done was a foul. "You pushed me! You stole the ball from my hands!" Clayton roared. "He pushed you?" Percy asked him like he didn't know what Clayton was talking about. "Yes he pushed me! Don't pretend you didn't see it!"

"I didn't see it" Eddy testified from behind me. "Me either" Grover added. Clayton's eyes bulged from their sockets. "I saw the whole thing; he took that ball from you fair and square. You need to get over the fact that you lost" Percy proclaimed. I felt heat rise to my face but I focused on Clayton to stop it. His anger filled eyes landed on me, "I'm going to get you di Angelo, this isn't over."

I shrugged, "whatever." I knew Clayton hated it when people didn't take him seriously so I chose that route. My team and I walked into the locker room, only having five minutes to clean up and get dressed.

"Why was that guy giving you a hard time?" Percy asked me as we walked out of the locker room. "Clayton and I have a long history. Thanks for lying for me." Percy laughed, making my stomach flutter. "No problem. I never saw a vein pop out that far before." I smiled, "yea, I love that vein in his collo." A confused look came over Percy's face, "His what?" My smile widened, "I thought I suppose to be tutoring you?"

"Oh, right. Um, what's a collo?" I rolled my eyes playfully, "il collo means 'the neck.'" 

"Oh yeah, we learned that a month ago" Percy said with a crooked smile. The playful smile I had disappeared. "Yeah, I'll see you later" I said quietly and walked away to my locker.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7

Chapter 7 (Nico's POV)

"Dude, chill out. It's just a swimming lesson" Will said and took another bite of his hotdog. It was only lunch time but my nerves were collecting in my throat. "It's not just a swimming lesson! Percy Jackson is teaching me how to swim! How can you take this so lightly?" I exclaimed a little louder than I meant to. Will rolled his eyes, "Nico, you are such a drama queen."

I groaned and stabbed my fork into my hotdog, "I am not a drama queen!" Will raised his eyebrows, students at a nearby table were staring at me. I took a deep breath, I knew I couldn't lose my head over something like this. It would have led to more embarrassment. "Can you please come with me?" I asked Will quietly.

"I will drive you, but I don't want to be a bother." I frowned, "how would you be a bother? I want you to come and I doubt Percy would mind." Will shrugged, "anything can happen at a swimming lesson. And I think Percy would like some alone time with you." My eyes widened, "how could you say that? Nothing like that will happen. It's just a swimming lesson."

"Then why are you worried?" I sighed in frustration, "because we will be alone and it will be awkward and I-"

"Nico, relax. Everything will be fine. Now, tell me what happened with Clayton."

...

I couldn't sit still. I couldn't watch the movie. I kept getting up to pace around the room. I knew Will was getting agitated, but I didn't care. I had thirty more minutes left until we had to leave. Every first day of school made me nervous. Changing in the locker room made me nervous. Public speaking made me nervous. But what I was feeling wasn't nerves. It was a feeling that was eating me alive.

"Nico, calm down. You still have another half hour before we need to leave." I ignored him and kept pacing. I was thinking seriously about not going. But I already paid for the first lesson and my dad hated wasting money. I looked back at the clock to see it was 4:30. I only lived ten minutes away from the activity center.

"You should go get your swim trunks," Will said as he turned off the TV. I made it pretty clear I was too nervous to watch it. "Do you want to eat something before we go?" I shook my head, "I can't eat right now."

Will nodded, "well, we got fifteen minutes so go get ready." With shaky legs, I left the living room to go and pack my bag. All I needed was a towel, an old white tee-shirt and the black swim trunks with gray skulls I bought the day before. I got a plastic bag to put my stuff in and met Will in the kitchen. "Ready?" I nodded and looked at the time on the stove, it was time to leave.

My stomach did flip-flops on the way to the car. My body continued to shake. My breathing grew faster and I could tell Will was getting a bit worried. "Nico take a deep breath. It's just a swimming lesson. You don't want Percy to see you like this do you?" He was right. I didn't want Percy to see me like that. I tried to think of something else, but my thoughts weren't working with me.

I closed my eyes and replayed a TV show I watched the night before in my head. It relaxed me a little. Will turned on some music and started to sing. He loved to sing and was pretty good at it. But when he sung in the car, he sang loud and bad on purpose because he knew I hated it. I glared at him for the rest of the way there.

"We're here" Will sang and pulled up to the front door. My nerves suddenly caught on fire. "Please go in there with me." 

"Since when did you need me to do everything with you?" Will asked with a slight frown. "I don't." 

"Okay then, go and take your swimming lesson like a big boy."

"Fuck you Will. I can do this without you" I said as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. "Great, see you in an hour" he called before I shut the door. It didn't click in my mind that he tricked me until after he drove off. He had a way with words so he could get what he wanted. But I had no time to be mad at him. It was 5:00 and I didn't want to be too late.

The lady who sat at the desk looked up and smiled. "Hello Dear, you can just walk through that door to the pool area. Percy will be waiting for you." A new knot formed in my stomach at that last sentence. Walking into the pool area, the smell of chlorine hit my nose. I spotted Percy looking over something on a clipboard by the office. He was wearing what he wore when I signed up. A white tee-shirt and a pair of blue swim trunks.

"Hey." I greeted in a shaky voice. He looked up in my direction and a smile broke out across his face.

"Ciao , sono sette pronti per iniziare?" (Hey, are seven ready to start?)

I looked at him, a bit confused on what he said. His face turned from his charming smile to a worried expression. "What did I just say?"

"Sette means seven. I think you mean 'Ciao, siete pronti per iniziare?'" (Hey, are you ready to start?)

"Dammit, and I practiced that." I held back a laugh but let a small smile form. "Well, are you?"

"Yea, I am. But I have to change." I lifted the bag in my hand up a little as a gesture. "Okay, you can go right in there. Hurry, though, we only have fifty-five minutes." I nodded, thinking about how badly Percy needed the tutoring.

The pool locker room was big. About six stalls, four changing areas, three showers and a wall of lockers. I went over to a changing area, which was a small space surrounded by a light brown curtain. There was a chair in the middle and a few hooks on the walls. I set my bag on the chair and changed from my dark blue shirt and black jeans to a white tee-shirt and my swim trunks.

I grimaced at the sight of my exposed, pale legs. Taking a deep breath, I walked out of the locker room and back over to Percy. "Great. Okay, the most important thing I need to teach you is to trust me. Do you trust me?" I thought for a moment. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but I didn't fully trust him.

"We are going to do a trusting exercise first. You need to trust me fully so you will be able to relax in the water. It'll make more sense later." Percy motioned me to follow him to the other side of the deep pool. "Stand right here and turn your back to me." I did, I knew what we were going to do, I just didn't know if I could be able to do it right.

"Fall back, I'll catch you" Percy instructed. I slowly fell back, but I stuck my foot out behind me to catch myself at the last minute. Percy sighed, "Okay, you don't trust me." there was a hint of disappointment in his tone, making me feel bad.

"Let's try again. I'll trust you this time" I promised him with a quick glance. "I'll catch you Nico," he said. A spark of hurt went through me because I knew he would never mean those words in the way I wanted them to mean.

I fell back and let myself fall all the way until a pair of toned arms caught me. He didn't immediately let me go, he just held me for a second. I looked up at him, he was staring down at me with his smile. "See I told you, you could trust Me," he stood me up on my feet, finally letting myself breathe again.

"How tall are you?" I blinked, a little dazed by Percy holding me. "W-what?" He gave me another crooked smile, "Your height?"

"Oh, uh, 5'4" I knew my cheeks were red, they felt hot. "Well, today I'll teach you how to float so we will go in the 4 feet end." I followed him to the pool on the right side by the large windows. He kicked off his flip-flops by the lifeguard stand. I left my shoes in the locker room so I just followed him to the pool.

The water was cold, it sent a chill through me from my toes. I almost completely froze as the water engulfed me to my chest. "Do you know how to float?" Percy asked me once we were about 4 and a half feet deep. "No" I answered, little out of breath from the nerves and the water.

Percy noticed how nervous I was and grabbed my arm. "Well, I'm going to teach you. Being able to float is very important to learning how to swim" he pulled me closer to him so my back was against his chest. "You need to relax, though. It won't work if you don't."

My breathing picked up due to the closeness of Percy. His warmth felt nice against the cold water. "Nico, relax" he whispered in my ear. I shuddered, wondering why he thought I could relax with him doing that. Suddenly Percy's arm went down and wrapped itself under my knees. I took a grip on him as he lifted my legs up until he was basally holding me bridal style.

"P-Percy" I started to freak out as he leaned my head back into the water. "Relax Nico, I got you. Just lay back" he said in a soft, calming voice. My grip on his shirt tightened. "Nico you're not relaxing." Both of my hands were hanging on his shirt as I felt the water seep in my ears. I couldn't get myself to relax, not with water swallowing my head and Percy holding me.

"Nico, close your eyes, and just focus on the movements of the water around you." I closed my eyes but the only thing that happened was the constant thought of 'Percy's holding me. Percy's holding me!' But then I took a deep breath and felt the water make slight, gentle waves against my body. The water didn't seem as cold but calming. I didn't realize that my body was slowly melting into the water, becoming a part of the waves.

When I finally opened my eyes, I realized that Percy wasn't with me anymore. I was floating by myself about two feet from where Percy stood in the water. I freaked out and my head went under water for a few seconds until I managed to get my feet to touch the bottom. Percy was by my side again when I resurfaced, "Are you okay? You were doing fine what happened?"

I spurted out some water, "you let me go! I could have drowned!" He patted my back, "that is why you relax. When your muscles tense up it makes you heavier."

"Like quicksand?"

"Exactly. Swimming is a survival skill. You master it and you don't die. Simple." Percy explained like it was supposed to encourage me to stay in the water.

"Wow, swimming sounds like a lot of fun," I said sarcastically. "It is if you don't drown. Ready to try again?" I didn't want to admit it out loud, but floating was kind of fun. It was relaxing which, was new to me. I let Percy put me back in position, my head leaned back in the water and my arms and leg spread out on the surface. I looked like a human starfish.

After finally allowing myself to relax, I calmly floated around the pool. "You're doing great. Now if you can get in the floating position by yourself then I'll teach you how to backstroke."

I sat up slightly until my toes touched the floor. The water came up to my chin because I floated to the middle of the pool. Slowly, I walked on my toes towards the 4ft end. When I was comfortable with the water, I spread my arms and laid back so my feet rose to the surface. "Wow, you're a fast learner."

Percy swam over to me before giving me more instructions. "Now, you have to use your arms to move you through the water. Basically, you're gonna swim on your back. Stay relaxed and lift your arms one at a time up to your head." I picked my right arm up and brought it to my head, then back down under the water causing me to move up an inch.

I repeated with my left arm to move another inch. Percy smiled brightly at me, "Perfect, we only have about ten minutes left so you can just practice that for the remainder of the time. You did great." I was surprised at how fast time went by. I didn't expect the lesson to be so fun.

For the rest of the ten minutes, I swam around the pool on my back. Percy to help me out of the water because I stopped on the deep end again. He handed me a towel and sent me to the locker room to get dressed.

"Did you have fun?" Percy asked as he walked me to the front of the building. "Yeah, I did. Thanks."

" No problem. So, what time do you want to start the tutoring tomorrow?"

"I guess after your swim team meeting." I looked for Will's car but he wasn't there yet. My hair was still damp so standing in the cool March air wasn't something I wanted to do. "Well, if you don't have anything better to do then I would like for you to come and watch the practice."

I looked at him, my eyebrows knitted together. "You can watch us swim and afterward we can go to my house for the lesson" Percy explained. I thought about it. Being in Percy's house shook me a little. But it I knew it would save time so I agreed. "Yeah, that'll work."

Will's car finally came into view. He drove around the parking lot then pulled in front of the building where Percy and I were standing. "I'll see you at school. Thanks again for the lesson." "See ya Nico."

Percy walked back inside and I got into the passenger seat. "Hey, sorry I'm late. How did it go?"

"Okay, I guess. I'm hungry." Will laughed as he drove onto the main road. "Where do you want to go?" "Dairy Queen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were liking or hating this story you would tell me right? Can you tell me?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8

(Nico's POV)

Ms. Powell wrote down more emotions on the board along with it's Italian translation. I just copied them down on my paper but really wasn't paying much attention. I never had to pay attention in Italian since I could already speak it fluently. Ms. Powell didn't know I could speak Italian better than she could so she labeled me her best student because I "paid close attention" and "studied real hard."

Percy, as he usually did, was goofing off at his seat. It was obvious he had ADHD due to the fact that he never sat still for too long before getting distracted. I knew teaching him would be hard because I had to find a way to keep his attention long enough to teach him something.

"Percy Jackson" Ms. Powell called from the front. Percy jolted from his project with a few small paper bits to an annoyed teacher. "Yes Ms. Powell?"

"How to you say confused in Italian?" Percy looked nervously around the room. "C-Con...fuso?" He was close, but he didn't pronounce it right. "Watch the U" Ms. Powell warned. "Confuso" Percy corrected. Ms. Powell didn't look satisfied. "Pay attention Mr. Jackson. You can't afford another D this week."

I thought that was a little uncalled for. Ms. Powell didn't like Percy, she made that clear. Percy looked at her with a glare, "well maybe if you were a better teacher, I would get better grades."

My eyes widened. I knew Percy had a temper, but I didn't think he would say anything back since he was already on thin ice. Ms. Powell stared at Percy in shock, then her face turned beet red with anger. "How dare you. You should be expelled!"

I had to do something, I couldn't let Percy get expelled. One of the many things I hated about my self was that I would do any thing for him. "Uh, Ms. Powell? I have a question."

She looked a little irritated that I spoiled her moment of yelling at her least favorite student. "Yes Nico, what is your question?"

"What is 'worried' again?" That was the best I could come up with but it seems to work. "Preoccupato. Let's continue class and this time... everyone pay attention." That last part sounded more like a threat than an instruction.

As Ms. Powell continued with the lesson, I slowly glanced over Percy. He gave me a thankful smile and mouthed "thanks." I gave him a slight nod, then turned back to lazily copy the board.

After the bell rang everyone packed up and started to leave. Percy tapped on my shoulder, "Are you still going with me?" "Yeah I am. I just have to get a book out of my locker first."

"Thanks for kinda bailing me out. I cant get expelled right now." "Well, now we're even." I opened my locker and pulled out my mythology book. The test was on Friday and I was still confused on which god did what. "Okay, lets go." I followed Percy down to where they did their practices. It was like a second gym but with a big pool.

"Are you sure Coach Moyer is okay with me watching?" I sat down on the bleachers beside Percy's backpack and jacket. "Why wouldn't he be? People come and watch us all the time. I'm gonna go change. Make yourself comfortable." Percy disappeared in the locker room which seems to be full of the other team members.

I sat still for a moment, looking around, not sure what to do. I thought maybe I could read my English book for a head start on homework. My copy of The Catcher in the Rye was old and beaten, it was a school library book and it wasn't well liked. But before I could start reading a loud whistle was blown.

"Let's go boys, practice is starting!" Coach Moyer yelled into the locker room. Coach Moyer was a man about the age of forty. His hair was brown with the front strands tuning gray. He was more laid back than Coach Hedge, but I could tell he took winning seriously.

The team started to come out of the locker room, my book falling out of my hands. Percy's chest was fully exposed, the only thing he was wearing was a small, black pair of shorts that hugged his body. I swiftly moved my gaze to the floor, fully aware that my face was as red as a raspberry. My book laid on the floor under my seat, already forgotten in my hazy state.

They started off with swimming sprints, Percy, being one of the best, done it the fastest. It took everything in me to focus on my book rather than Percy, which I failed to do 90% of the time. Every once in a while, he would catch me staring and he would flash me a bright smile. Of course my face would turn five shades darker and I would try to read my book again.

When it was all over, I was starving to non-believe and my face seemed to turn permanently red. Percy came out of the locker room with his hair damp and a towel draped around his neck. "Ready to go?" "Y-yea" I handed him his backpack and grabbed my own. Percy looked down at the book in my hand, "ew, I hated The Catcher in the Rye. It was so boring."

"It is. But I have to read it." Percy and I walked out of the building to his red highlander. I think it was a 2007 model. I got in the passenger seat, the strong smell of Percy invading my nose. "Are you hungry?" he asked and adjusted his mirror. "Yes" my stomach was rumbling I was used to eating right after school, not an hour and a half later.

"Do you want to pick up something on the way or eat at my house? My mom made us a chocolate pudding pie for the study session."

"That's fine. I love chocolate. Will your parents be home?" My thoughts were a big cloud of questions and anxiety, and they were coming out that way.

"No, they're going to be out tonight. They didn't want to disturb us." I was getting nervous again. Being alone...with Percy...at his house. I forgot why I said yes in the first place.

"Are you okay?" I jumped at the sudden question. "Yea, yea I'm fine." His green eyes still held a look of concern, but nonetheless, he returned his gaze to the busy road.

The rest of the ride was awkward and silent. We soon pulled up to an apartment building with about fifteen floors. Percy lay back in his seat and sighed. I took this moment to study Percy's apartment building. Two large glass double doors stood as the entrance of a tall, brick building. Two small cedar trees were growing on each side of the glass doors.

My stomach rumbled quite loudly, causing my face to heat up. Percy looked over at me and smiled, "come on, I'll feed you." My face darkened even more. I got my backpack and followed him into the building. The lobby wasn't anything fancy, just a couch, a few chairs and a desk with a grumpy old lady behind it. She never said anything, she just watched us as we got on the elevator.

Percy pressed the 8th floor button and the doors closed. We rode up in silence, thankfully the elevator was fast. We got off on a long hallway with tan walls and red carpet. He unlocked the door to room 825, letting me in first. The living room was connected to the kitchen and a small hallway with a few rooms. It had a welcoming feeling to it, a very cozy apartment.

"We can set up here and eat before we start" Percy suggested as he set his backpack on the table. I placed mine in a chair and followed Percy into the kitchen. "We can have chips with the pie or you can have a hotdog. How hungry are you?" I told him the chips and pie will be fine. He got a bag of potato chips and a chocolate pudding pie out of the refrigerator.

"So, how bad is your dyslexia?" I asked as we sat down at the table. "It's pretty bad, but it's gotten better. My mom's fiancé is a teacher and he's been helping me a lot. But don't worry, I'm not unteachable."

"I-I know, I didn't mean it that way. I've never tutored anyone before and I'm kinda nervous." Percy set a piece of pie on my plate, "no need to be nervous, you'll get used to me." I couldn't tell if he was kidding. He did give a lot of the teacher a hard time, which was one of the many reasons why I was scared. Teaching a dyslexic a second language is hard and if I wasn't good at it he would get difficult.

The pie was amazing, chocolate pudding on pie crust with a little whip cream was perfect for my nerves. "Tell your mom I said thanks for the pie." I said and moved my plate over. "Are you ready to start?"

"Yea. We're learning emotion words right?" I nodded and got out my notebook. "Do you remember any from class today?" He got out his notes, "I remember confuso." I smiled slightly at the memory of Ms. Powell's fight with Percy. "Okay. Anything else?"

"Not really" percy shook his head. "Well now we have a starting point. Happy is contento."

"Conteno" Percy said, failing to pronounce the word correctly. I shook my head, "con-tan-tu."

"Con-tan-tu" Percy said again, correctly this time. "Good. It helps to write the way it's pronounced by the word." Percy did that then looked back at me. "Afraid is impaurito. Im-pou-rito."

Percy tried to say it himself and wrote it down. I avoided his waiting green eyes and scanned my notes again. "Amazed...stupito." Percy cocked his head slightly to the side. "Stupito?"

I rolled my eyes playfully, "you need to work on your Italian accent." Percy laughed, "Yea, I'll work on that."

"It's stup-it-o. stupito is amazed. Got it?" Percy wrote it down and nodded, "I think so." I could tell Percy was starting to get a little fidgety so I picked an easy one. "This one can be used for a lot of words but means basically the same thing. Bello means beautiful. And lovely, nice, good, handsome and so on."

"Bello, simple. This one is my favorite." Percy commented as he wrote down everything. I ate a chip and looked for another word. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy staring at me. Not with a waiting expression, but one of interest. His head was cocked to the side and his top teeth were digging into his bottom lip.

I turned my head to face him hoping he would stop but instead his eyes fixed on my lips. My face started to heat up. Part of me wanted to kiss him and part of me wanted to run and hide. I did the only thing I could get myself to actually do. "Love."

He broke out of his trance and looked at me with pink tinted cheeks. "What?"

"Love is the next word. Amare. A-mar-de." He turned bright red and said, "a-mar-de." I nodded slowly, neither of us taking our eyes off one another. "Uh... t-thanks" Percy stuttered and wrote down the word. I felt a pang of regret for not taking my chance, but if I did, Percy would have hated me and I made everything awkward. I was terrified of rejection.

We continued to go through the words of the week until Percy had them all written down. "Okay, now we are going to make flashcards. It will be easier for you to study and remember." Percy groaned but got out a stack of index cards. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna work on my math homework while you do that."

"Ugh, I hate math. Mrs. Dodds hates me."

"Mrs. Dodds hates everyone" I point out as I got out my homework sheet. "She likes Nancy."

"Nancy is a teachers pet. Now stop complaining and do your flashcards so we can move on." Percy groaned, "There's more?" I rolled my eyes, "yes, we have a sheet we have to do remember?" Percy groaned again.

Twenty flashcards and ten torturous math problems later, we took a break. We had another piece of pie and talked about random things. I learned more about Percy's family. His mom was engaged to Mr. Blofis, who was a teacher at our school. We also talked about the test on Friday and how determined we were to get Percy at least a B.

Talking to Percy started to become easier. It wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. I started to tell him more about my family and Will. But once I bought up Will, his mood seemed to change. He never said anything about it though, so neither did I. I soon realized that we talked for almost an hour and that I had to go home soon. Percy was upset that we had to continue our work but he got over it.

After everything was said and done, I called my dad to let him know he could come and get me. "I had fun with you today, except for the times you made me work." I laughed, "Thanks?" Percy's smile slowly faded like a thought was bringing his mood down. "Do you really have to go? Its only 7:00."

"Yea I have to. I need to eat dinner and finish my homework. Thanks for the pie though." Percy gave me a weak smile, "no problem."

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. It was a text from my dad saying he was waiting outside. "My dad's here. I'll see you later Percy." I walked to the door and gave him one last look. I really didn't want to leave.

"Bye Nico."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I used google to translate the Italian parts. If you speak Italian, let me know if you see any mistakes :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9

Chapter 9 (Percy's POV)

Nico closed the door behind him leaving me alone in the quiet apartment. I usually liked being home alone, but all I wanted to do was sit down and think. I wanted to spend more time with him. He was actually talking to me, it was amazing. Teaching him how to swim and the tutoring meant that I would be spending almost all week with him. But somehow, it didn't feel like enough.

I sat down on the couch thinking about the things he told me. His family, school, Will. I didn't know why but, listening to Nico talk about Will the way he did made me feel a little angry. I never really had problems with jealousy before. Will was Nico's only friend so it made sense why he would talk about him like they were brothers, but it still bothered me.

I sighed and laid back on the couch. I did have another lesson with Nico the next day. I started to think about our last lesson. A knock at the door had me up on my feet in seconds. Annabeth was waiting in the hallway, and for some reason, it kinda felt like a let down. "Hey Percy. Nico left right?" I nodded and let her in. Things weren't too weird between us, but it was still a little awkward.

"Did you have fun? Learn anything?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch. "Yea actually. I had a lot more fun than I thought I would." Annabeth nodded, her eyes held that look of thought. "Tell me, do you like spending time with him? Like you always want to be around him?"

I frowned, "Yea...why?" She rolled her eyes. "What do you think about him?" I wanted to ask why Annabeth was asking stupid questions, but something told me that if I did, I wouldn't like her reaction. "He's a nice guy. A very interesting person... why?" She again ignored my question and asked, "how often do you think about him?"

"Why are you asking?" I didn't want to answer that question. The truth is, I thought about him a lot. "Because you like him," Annabeth said mater-a-factly. My jaw dropped, I couldn't say anything. She rolled her eyes again, "oh come on Percy, you know you do. It's obvious." I just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Percy, you talk about him more than you think. You've been acting different too. Jason and I talked about it and it's painfully obvious to everyone but you."

My shock only grew. My friends had been talking about me having a crush on Nico. "But... he's... a guy." Annabeth looked at me like I was stupid. "Percy, think about it. Think really hard. How do you actually feel about Nico?" I thought about it. Nico was a shy, smart person. I liked being around him, I thought about him a lot when he wasn't around. I smiled more often around him. Then what happened during the tutoring session popped back in my mind.

The sight of him was captivating; I didn't realize I was looking at him. The way his lips moved to form the word love, it shook my core. The way I felt when he talked to me like he actually wanted to... and was enjoying it. The way I felt when he left...

It all crashed down on me at once. I did have a crush on Nico. "But... I... a guy..."

"Percy, it's okay. Your sexuality doesn't matter." I started to freak out. I liked girls but suddenly I was falling for a guy? "But... I like girls. How can I..." Annabeth's thinking look returned. "You maybe are attracted to girls but just like Nico. Or you are bisexual. But that is up for you to find out. No matter what, don't screw things up."

I swallowed hard. Screwing things up was my specialty. "What if he doesn't like me back?" That was probably my biggest fear. Annabeth smiled at me. "Don't worry about it. Tell him when you're ready." I just sat there, shock clouding my mind. The possibility of being gay never crossed my mind. When I was with Annabeth, I enjoyed our kisses. I liked her, I was attracted to her. But then Nico stepped in the picture...

"Oh, you can invite him to our night out." I thought about it. Every month, we try to take a night where we all go out and do something fun. I wanted him there. I made a mental note to ask him.

The next day I was a total wreck. Since I was consciously aware of my crush on Nico, I was more nervous to be around him. It wasn't bad, but I didn't like it. I talked to Nico a little at gym, waved at him in mythology and even talked to him before and after Italian. Our conversations became more fluent and often. I was also aware of how much I thought about him. It was embarrassing how much he appeared in my mind.

That day we had a swim lesson. I was going to teach him how to stay relaxed in the water and how to move correctly. He came in with his bag in his hand. "Hey" I smiled at him, "Hi, go change so we won't lose any time." He disappeared in the locker room, leaving me to collect myself. My mind flashed scenes of our last lesson. The trust test, me holding him as he got used to the water. I swallowed.

Nico came out in his tee-shirt and swim trunks looking as nervous as he always did. I wondered why, did I scare him? He seemed calm around other people. I brushed the thought out of my mind looked down at the list for lesson two. "Okay, today you'll learn how to use your feet to move through the water. But first, I want to make sure you haven't forgotten how to float."

Nico nodded and climbed down the ladder into the water. I followed him to the middle of the pool and watched as he tried, but failed, to get up to the position. "Try again. It takes a few times to do." He did it again and finally made it to the top. Tufts of his dark hair floated behind his head. His soaked clothes clung to his body.

"Great, so now we can move on." Nico got back on his feet and waited for me to tell him what to do. "I need you to get as deep in the water as you can. Stay close to the side and use that to hang on to." He pursed his lips and slugged through the water. He reached the side of the pool and walked along the edge to as deep as he could without going underwater completely.

I stayed close to him to make sure he didn't go completely under. It's not good if your student doesn't trust you, and I don't want Nico to drown, "Okay, grab the side with both hands and let your legs float behind you." He did that, making sure to get a firm grip on the concrete edge before lifting himself up behind him and letting himself float.

He took a deep breath and let his body relax. I smiled to myself. He was trusting me. He was actually learning to trust me. I felt so happy suddenly I forgot what I was doing. "Oh, uh, just float for a second. Get used to it." He kept breathing and I kept trying to hold back my happiness. I didn't know why I was so happy. It's not like he liked my back. My insides suddenly felt like they were melting at that thought.

"Ready?" my voice showed my sadness. It made Nico turn his head to look at me. I pushed my thoughts aside and smiled at him, "Are you?" he nodded and looked forward again. "Okay, slowly kick you legs back. Like up and down in a kicking motion." I didn't explain it well but at least I explained it the best I could. Nico seemed to get it because he kicked his legs back perfectly. I quickly realized he was a fast learner. "Good, do that for a few moments and get used to it. It's one of the most important moves to swimming."

He did that for about twenty seconds and started to slow down. "Your leg muscles need to be strengthened. But that will happen as you swim. Stop and rest for a moment before we move on." He stopped and hung on the edge. If he didn't hang on the edge, the water would go up right under his nose. "Come over here to where you can touch the floor." He used the edge to hang on and climbed up the poolside.

"Okay, basically you are going to use your legs and arms to move through the water on your back. I'll give you a demonstration." I got to the front of the pool and got on my back, using the wall to get there. I started to kick loosely like my legs were flippers and used my arms to help glide through the water. Once I reached the other side, I did the same on the way back. Nico watched with careful eyes. I got back on my feet again, "Make sure you are loose and relaxed. Don't switch arms too early, just glide through the water."

Nico got to the front of the pool and used the wall to get on his back. But once he started to kick his feet he wasn't doing it right and he fell in. "Do it loosely. Like your feet are flippers but don't do anything to make them flippers. Let your body naturally push you through the water." He tried again and got pretty far, almost to the other side. But, fear got to him and he fell. I caught him and pulled him up. He coughed and clung to me like a little kid.

I patted his back held him close. I knew it was going to get awkward but I didn't care. That same feeling I got the last time I held him returned, making me not want to let go. He caught his breath and his grip loosened. "I'm okay now." He said. "Good" I whispered. With him still on me, I swam over to the other side. "I don't think swimming is the thing for me" he said once his feet touched the floor.

"Don't get discouraged, there is plenty of time to get better." I was actually scared he would drop the lessons. "But I keep almost drowning" he pointed out. "Yeah and so did I. The 10-year-old I taught before you did the same. Nico, it's your first time." He set his jaw and sighed, "Fine, but keep me alive." I smiled, "no problem, I would get fired if you drowned." He glared at me before trying again, this time getting all the way to the other side. By the time the lesson was over, Nico could complete a whole lap around the pool.

"Good job. Unfortunately, our time is up." We got out of the pool and he got his towel. As he walked to the locker room, what Annabeth said popped back in my head. "Hey Nico," he turned, "Do you have any plans for this Saturday?" he turned dark red and shook his head. I smiled, "Well, would you like to come out with me and my friends? We're go get something to eat and going to a movie."

Nico turned redder and looked a little disappointed. A wave of sadness washed over me. "Sure, that sounds fun. Can I bring Will?" Again, that strange feeling ran through me. "Of course, the more the merrier." He smiled weakly turned back to the locker room. A heavy regret weight on me. I felt like I should run into the locker room and ask him out. But I didn't, because I was scared. But I did make the promise to myself that I would make up for it. 

And I already knew how.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Nico's POV

Will took a bite of his chicken enchilada. I just stared down at the table. What happened the day before still played in my mind without me wanting it to. I was so stupid to think he was actually going to ask me on a date. I didn't mean for that to be an expectation, but my inner self just went that way. I didn't want to go out with him and his friends. I didn't want to tutor him later that day. I didn't want to see him at all.

"Hey, Nico. What happened?" Will asked after realizing I was upset. "Nothing. Do you want to go with me to a night out with Percy and his friends? I might go if you go with me." He thought about it. "When? And where will we go?" "Friday night. Percy said we would get something to eat and to see a movie." Will hummed, "sure. I have nothing planned." I sighed; if Will was coming I guessed I could go too. I just felt like hiding under a rock for the rest of my life.

"Seriously, what happened to you? You look sad." I sighed again. I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't even want to say it out loud in a room by myself. The embarrassment killed me. It was my fault though. I got too close to Percy and I started to get my hopes up. I told myself I would never do that again. I wanted to be with him so bad and I thought that maybe if I got closer to him he would start to like me. I tried to talk to him a little after school and it lasted for about two minutes. He seemed to like talking to me again. But the next day he got with Annabeth.

I was so broken inside I skipped school for two days until my dad made me go. Will try to make me feel better. He took me out for some guy time but it didn't help. Percy wasn't mine; I accepted that a long time ago. But love is a trap. You think it's nothing, and then you fall. Every thing that falls, breaks. Hope is just a pair of arms that makes you think you would be caught, but then reality replaces it with a hard surface. It leaves you to scrape yourself up and try to find the glue. With Percy, I'm trapped in a rerun. The same false hope tricked me so I would brake. And I just can't seem to find the glue.

"Did something happen with Percy?" He was starting to get on my nerves. I knew he was just trying to be a good friend but I tried to make it clear I didn't want to talk about it. "No. It's nothing Will. Don't worry about it." He pursed his lips but didn't say anything about it afterwards.

...

"Hey, ready to go?" Percy asked. I didn't want to spend another whole day with him but I had to. The worst thing I could do was to be a jerk to him. I said I'd help him with Italian and I was going to do that, even if it sucked the life out of me.

Percy needed to do his swim practice and I had to finish my book. So that is what we did for the next hour and a half. "Are you okay?" he asked once he got in the car. I nodded, looking out my window. "Are you hungry? I would like to get you some food on the way there." "You don't have to. I only have five dollars on me." I finally looked at him. He smiled, "it's my treat." I looked in front of me. I tried to tell myself that buying a burger didn't mean anything. I didn't have to try hard though. My spirits were already low.

"Are you still studying your flashcards?" I asked to change the subject. "Yeah. I remember a lot of them." "Like what?"

"Well, I remember bello is beautiful. Amazed is stupito. And... amare... love."

I swallowed. "Good. Is that it? The test is tomorrow." "I'm still learning." I nodded. I knew it would take Percy some time to learn another language but I wanted him to do well. We pulled up to a small Mexican restaurant. "Do you like Mexican food?" he asked. "Y-Yeah but, I thought you meant a drive-thru. It would have been cheaper and quicker."

Percy smiled, "Nico, you are worth more than a drive-thru. And, I don't want it to be quick." I stared at him with raised eyebrows. He wanted to spend time with me? He smiled even wider, "are you coming in?" I blinked and stepped out of the car. Inside, it was decked out in Mexican decorations. Red, white and green banners and streamers were all over the walls. Each table had a sauce holder with a cartoonish jalapeño with a wide smile and a sombrero. Mexican music played over on the speakers.

A man seated us in a booth at the back of the restaurant. It was a small booth, a seat for one person. Percy sat in front of me and smiled. I smiled weakly back and looked around the room. Only two other tables were full, perfect. "I don't want you to pay for my food" I said. I didn't feel right about him paying for it. "Don't worry. I want to. And this place is very inexpensive."

A waiter brought us a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa along with the menus. "What would you like to drink?" "Um, Pepsi for me and..." he looked at me. "Uh Pepsi as well please." The waiter wrote that down and left to get them. I looked through the menu to see what I would eat and would be cheap. Percy was right, the items were very inexpensive.

Cheese Quesada with a side of rice was what I went with. Percy got two large beef tacos. Waiter took our order and left us alone. "So, how are you enjoying your swimming lessons?" Percy asked and dipped a chip in the salsa. "They're fun. But I suck at it." Percy shook his head, "no, you're actually pretty good. A fast learner. You pick up on things and can do it. Don't get discouraged." I looked down at the table.

"Wanna chip?" he handed me a chip and nudged the bowl of salsa towards me. "No thanks. I'm not a big fan of spicy food." "Oh no it's not spicy. Mild. It's really good, try it." I sighed and dipped a chip in the bowl. It wasn't really spicy. It tasted like salsa without all the peppers. "Like it?" I nodded. It was good. It's easier to taste salsa without all the spicy flavors.

"Where is your trip?" I took a sip of my drink before answering. "We are going to California. My aunt Hestia invited us down. We're staying a week with her and she lives near the beach. And I figured if I'm going in shark infested waters, I want to at least know how to swim."

Percy laughed, "Well, you will. We got plenty of time and you are learning fast." I smiled a little and ate another chip. The waiter came back with our food. "Thanks" Percy said. I mumbled my thinks and he went back to the kitchen. The tacos Percy ordered were huge. It was a large, oval shaped plate, and the tacos almost covered it. "Wow, I didn't know they were this big." He said.

I filled my fork up with rice. I got a large tortilla with white cheese baked inside, and a side of orange rice. It was good. I usually got that whenever we went to a Mexican restaurant.

Percy had to use his fork to eat the taco. I ate a chip and took a bite of my Quesada. "You're lucky. You get to go to the beach. I love the beach. You need to tell me all about California when you get back." I raised my eyebrow at him. He winked with a bright smile and I had to look down at the table before a blush showed. I was getting angry at myself. I was getting hooked on Percy again. I couldn't fall off the edge. I just couldn't. Not again.

I took a deep breath and continued to eat. "I've never been to California; I've never been on a plane either." I took a sip of my drink. I've been on a plane many times. My dad does a lot work around the country. Most of the time, he goes alone. Hazel and I are old enough to stay at home alone for a while. And he always gets a neighbor to check on us anyways. I guess if on a daily bases you see how cruel people can be, you don't just leave your kids at home. But he has no choice most of the time because it's business.

I looked up to see Percy looking at me funny, "Are you okay? You're not talking, like... at all." I cleared my throat, "I'm fine." "Do you like the lunch? Are you happy with it? Is your food okay?" My eyebrows scrunched together, "Yeah. It's fine. Thanks." He seemed pleased, but careful. I could see that he wanted to talk to me and make sure I was having fun. So I went along with it. It was nice of him to buy me lunch and I wanted to show my appreciation.

We talked a little and finished our food. The waiter came back with our bill and we got up to the counter. "Let me pay for a little. You can have my five dollars." He smiled and shook his head. "I said I wanted to buy you lunch and I did. I will pay for it." I glared at the back of his head as he paid for the meal. The man behind the counter smiled at us, although I don't know why. We left the restaurant and got back to the car.

"You didn't have to do that" I mumbled. "Well, I did. I wanted to." He started the car and I looked back out my window. "Did you have fun?" he asked suddenly. I pursed my lips and sighed, "Yeah, I did." I sounded sarcastic, which wasn't what I was going for. He didn't say anything, so I looked back at him. He was looking at the road but his focus was only half there. He looked disappointed.

I immediately felt bad. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. I did. I had a lot of fun. Thanks." He exhaled and glanced at me. "You sure you had fun?" I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I'm sure. Now keep your eyes on the road." He smiled and glanced at me again. They were quick glances, but it still scared me. I knew it took six tries for him to get his license.

I sighed and glared at him the next time he glanced. He looked taken aback by the look but it didn't seem to bother him like it bothered other people. "Fine, fine. I won't look at you anymore." I looked back out my window and watched the buildings pass by. We got to his apartment and I got the same comfy feeling I got last time.

"Do you want to do homework with me too? You make it go by quicker." "Sure. We will start with Italian first though. When we need a break from that we will do something else." I set up my notebook and list of homework I had to do at the table. Percy did the same beside me.

"Let me see your flashcards" He took his cards out of his backpack and handed them over. I shuffled them and held up a random one. He looked at it, the word was kind.

"Um, triste?" I shook my head, "no, tipo." I set the card down in a pile for wrong ones. I raised another, delighted. He concentrated, "Amirtoe?" I frowned, "Yes but its ammirato." I put that one in another pile. The next, I hesitated to show, love. "Oh, amare" he said and met my eyes. I looked away quickly, showing another card.

We continued that until we went through all of them. He knew 11 out of 20. "Okay, let's go back through these." I went through each card, saying the word and the Italian translation. He listened, though I did have to regain his attention a few times. "Now, let's take a break. We have a report in history." He groaned, "That's not a break. That's a headache." I rolled my eyes and got out my textbook. "We will only collect facts and information today. We can write it over the weekend."

"Will you be with me?" I nodded, "yeah, I'll be here Saturday." He smiled and got out his stuff. We found and wrote down everything the teacher wanted us to. But Percy was getting distracted. He would play with the straps of his backpack or fiddle with his pen. I would make him focus but he would do something else after another few minutes. I looked over and caught him staring off into space. I sighed, "Let's take a break. You're not focusing."

He pressed his lips together, "sorry." I leaned back in my chair. Percy looked at me, his eyes scanning over me. "Looking for something?" I asked. He locked eyes with me then looked at the floor. "Nico, can I tell you something?" My heart started to race. What if he found out? "Sure" my voice was shaky but I tried to mask it.

Percy sat up and looked at me. He looked nervous. He took a deep breath, "Nico, I... want you to go easy on me. I want to confess something." I frowned, "okay. I won't judge you."

Percy bit his lip. "I, I um" he squeezed his eyes shut. I hung on to every word, my mind racing through all the possibilities he could say. He sighed, "I like-"

"Hey Percy, I'm home. Oh, uh sorry." Sally Jackson walked through the door, interrupting Percy. "Hi mom" Percy said and got up to hug her. "Hey baby. I'm sorry to interrupt you." Percy waved it off, "Na don't worry about it. We were just taking a break."

"Oh, well I'll leave you to your studies." "Okay, thanks." She smiled and went to her bedroom. Percy sat back down and glanced at me. "Never mind" he mumbled.

I looked back at my sheet, "Let's continue." He nodded and we went back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is it so far?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11

(Percy's POV)

I tapped my fingers nervously on the desk as Ms. Powell passed out the test papers. I wanted to do well on the test to show Nico I was trying hard. I also didn't want him thinking I was stupid. I studied the night before after Nico left to make sure I was going to do well. "I will give you 30 minutes to complete the test. I want to see better grades out of this class." Her eyes glazed over the other students but connected with mine. Her cold stare of hatred reminded me of another reason I wanted to pass.

I looked down at the paper and saw the first word, kind. I remembered that one tipo so I drew a line to connect the two words. Worried was the next word. I remembered it was a long word that started with a P. The only word like that was Preoccupato, so I connected it to that one. I guessed on a lot of them, the others I was 95% sure I was half right. I thought I would have gotten at least a C+.

"How did you do?" Nico asked as we walked down the hallway. "Great, I think. I'm feeling good about it."

"You did study the cards again last night, right?" he asked over the noise of the other students. "Yeah I did."

"Good, you needed it." I narrowed my eyes at him. He looked down at the floor and held in a snicker.

We waited outside the school for Will to get Nico. I had my swim meeting and Nico didn't want to stay. I didn't blame him, if I had to sit on the bleachers and read a book for an hour and a half, I would leave too.

Will finally appeared and walked over to us. "Ready?" he asked Nico, then looked at me "Hey Percy." I nodded slightly in his direction. I had to keep reminding myself they were just friends. It didn't help much because the voice in the back of my head would say; you and Annabeth were just friends.

It was kinda ridiculous though since I had no real evidence Nico was gay in the first place.

"I'll see you guys later" I said. Nico and Will both said "okay" and left to their car. I sighed and made my way to the meeting.

...

The next day, Nico showed up for his swim lesson. The main thing I planned to teach him was how to stay afloat in deep water. "Okay, today we are working on staying afloat. You need to get in the deep end where you can't touch the bottom." He took a shaky breath and got in the water. "Swim on your back all the way down there" I instructed and pointed my finger to the deeper end.

I stayed by him the whole way down the pool. He stopped and I pulled him closer to me so he won't feel like he was drowning. His body was tense, which wasn't a good thing. He clung to me as the water rose up to his neck. "You can't touch right?" he tried and shook his head.

I noticed he was very quiet in the water. Over all, he wasn't a very talkative person. But still was very quiet. "Stay relaxed, and kick your feet in the water." He started to kick but too fast to do anything good for him. "Not like that, slow and flipper-like. You mostly rely on your arms." He tried again and it took him a while to get it right. Once he did, I moved on. "Perfect. Now, I'm going to loosely let you go, and I want you to paddle with your arms."

"No, please don't let me go." He stopped moving his feet and clung to me tighter. "I'm not. Not completely. I'm just going to give you some room to move." Nico's breathing slowed a little, and his body relaxed. "Okay."

I gave him a reassurance smile and my arms slowly left his sides. His legs began to kick faster and he dipped in the water. I coughed him and he grabbed my shoulders. "Are you okay?" I asked as he wrapped his legs around my waist.

We were eye level; Nico's brown eyes stared back at me. I glanced down at his lips quickly before returning his gaze. His eyes held this look of anticipation. His breathing intensified. His lips were slightly parted, allowing his nervous breathes out of his lungs with ease. I slowly leaned in, I wanted to kiss him, and he wasn't stopping me. But before our lips could touch, my boss walked in. "Hello Percy" his voice boomed, startling both of us. "Hey Mr. Palmer."

I was a bit worried about what he saw. Of course being an instructor, I could loose my job by kissing the person I'm teaching. But luckily he didn't seem to notice. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Pretty good. Nico's learning faster than expected." Mr. Palmer raised his eyebrows, "that's great. I just needed to pick up a schedule and some paper work. I'll be out of here in one minute." He said and went to the office. "Take your time" I yelled.

Nico looked down at the water. He hadn't looked at me since Mr. Palmer walked in. The fear that I ruined everything exploded in the pit of my stomach. "Okay" I said with a sigh, "we are going to move on. Try again to get into the motion," he nodded slowly, he seemed uncomfortable. I knew it was a bad idea to try to kiss him. He was going to stop taking swim lessons, drop the tutoring and not go to the night out that night.

I took a deep breath and continued with the lesson. After our time was up, Nico got dressed and was about to leave. "Hey Nico" I called. I wanted to make sure things were good between us. He stopped and turned to look at me.

"Hey, you're still going to the night out tonight right?" he nodded slowly, his face showed a look of thought. "Good, you and Will could meet us at the pizza buffet by the movie theater." He nodded again, "Okay, thinks for inviting us."

I smiled, "No problem, I would love to have you there." He walked out the door and left me alone with the heavy feeling of regret.

...

Nico's POV

I waited for Will to get his slow ass to my house. I didn't want to be late. I hardly wanted to go. Especially after what happened during the swim lesson. I didn't even know what that was. . It seemed like he was going to kiss me. But I didn't want to think about it. If I did, than I would start to think he liked me back, which wouldn't end well for me.

Will finally pulled in my driveway and I got in the car. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, my mom wanted me to help my sister with her homework." I rolled my eyes, "you couldn't have went faster?"

"Why are you in a mood?" he asked with his eyebrows furrowed. I sighed, realizing I was kinda being a jerk. "Sorry, I'm just... frustrated."

"Why aren't you telling me what's going on? You can't just show up in a bad mood and not tell me why." I groaned, "Why can't I?"

"Because, if I have to deal with it, then I want to know if it's appropriate to slap you or not." I glared at him, but it didn't seem to faze him at all. "Tell me Nico. What happened between you and Percy?"

I sighed and gave in. I told him about the Mexican restaurant and what happened that day. He seemed surprised, and... happy. "He tried to kiss you?" my fists clenched, "No, he didn't." "Nico, when are you going to open your eyes?"

"You weren't there Will. You don't know what he was going to do." Will scoffed, "I have a pretty good idea."

I felt like I was going to punch him, but then the pizza buffet came into view. "There" I said and pointed at the building. Will pulled up to the giant window and I saw Percy talking to his friend Jason by a table full of his friends.

Will and I walked in and Percy saw us immediately. "Hey, I'm glad you came." He said with his smile. "I said I would" I said jokingly. "Well come on. They have really good pizza." Will and I followed Percy to the bar and we went through all the choices. I just got pepperoni since I wasn't a big fan of olives.

We all sat down together at joined tables and somehow I got between Will and Percy. Percy willingly sat beside me. I didn't really know why but I guessed it was so he could make me as uncomfortable as possible.

I just listened to Percy and his friends talk about school and random things. I knew all the people there. Annabeth, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Grover Underwood, Frank Zhang and Hazel. Frank was Hazel's boyfriend and he picked her up from the art club. I liked Frank; he was calm, nice to my sister, and pretty smart. When I first met him, I made myself clear, if he hurt my sister, I would use his bones as tooth picks.

"I'm gonna go get some more" Will said and got up. I didn't like being left alone with Percy and his friends. I felt a little awkward since I didn't know most of them personally. I was always that person who would just sit there and say nothing as everyone else talked to each other.

Percy looked over at me, "Do you like the pizza?" I nodded, "its good." He smiled, "their spaghetti is good too. Also the chocolate pizza, you should really try that."

I smiled weakly, "I will." I looked around to find Will. I saw him talking to a guy I recognized as Jake Mason. They were just talking and they laughed at something Will said.

I turned back around, if he wanted to talk, he could talk. "What movie are we seeing?" I asked Percy. "I don't really know. Some action movie Leo picked out." I wasn't really talkative, but I wanted for once not to be that person who made everyone uncomfortable by not talking. So I continued to ask Percy small questions. He didn't seem to mind.

Will finally sat down and he was smiling. "What was that all about?" I asked. He pursed his lips, "That was Jake Mason. He wanted to ask me a question about our art class and it turned into him asking me out on a date." My eyes got wide, "A date, you got a date?" he nodded, "tomorrow night at 7." I raised my eyebrows, "Wow." I was happy for him; I've never seen him that happy.

"Congratulations" I said and took a bit out of my pizza. "Thanks" he said, still smiling. The rest of dinner went smoothly, for the most part. Some of Percy's friends tried to get to know me. Jason and I seemed to really get along. I also talked to Hazel and Frank since I knew them better.

We left and met up again at the movie theater. I gave Leo eight dollars and he returned from the ticket booth with a ticket for The Expendables 3. I heard about that movie and I was excided that I was going to see it. I bought some popcorn and a drink, like everyone else.

"You know, I saw the first movie and it was pretty good. Full of action." Will said as we all walked to threater five. Luckily there was a section in the back open and big enough for all of us. I sat by Will, leaving the seat on the other side open. Will took a kernel of popcorn out of my bucket. "Hey!" I shouted. Will laughed, "Why eat my popcorn before the movie starts?" I glared at him and took a few of his.

Percy finally came back from the bathroom and the only seat left was the one by me. I thought his friends planned that because they were all watching him, smiling.

The movie started and I got engrossed in it. It was a really good movie. Half way through, Percy tapped on me. I looked over at him and he held up his box of chocolate raisins. I shook my head but since he offered something to me, I did the same with my popcorn. He didn't want any but said thanks anyways.

Through the last half of the movie, tension between us seemed to build. I was completely aware he was there and I kept catching him looking at me. I would just look back up at the screen and try to pretend I didn't know what he was doing. After the movie, we all walked back to the lobby and sat at two tables, just talking. "Did you like the movie?" Percy asked. "I liked it. Did you?"

"Yeah, best movie I've seen this year." Will was talking to Jason, leaving me alone with Percy...again. "I still have a lot of popcorn left. You can have it if you want." I pushed the half full bucket of popcorn towards him. "I'm not going to take your popcorn. But I will help you with it." He got a handful and shoved it in his mouth.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the tutoring tomorrow." I raised my eyebrows, "you are looking forward to homework on a Sunday?" He laughed, "Yeah, I am."

"Wow. Why?" I got some popcorn and ate it. "I don't know, you are really good at teaching me."

"Thanks" I said slowly. "You are understanding Italian better?" He nodded his mouth full. We finished off the popcorn and talked a little more about the tutoring. I found out I was doing a better job than I thought.

Will came over to our table, "are you ready?" I looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost 10:30pm. "Yeah I am." I stood up and looked at Percy, "thanks again for inviting us." Percy smiled, "I'm glad you came."

"What time do you want me over tomorrow?" I asked and grabbed the empty popcorn bucket.

"Uh, 2:00 is fine."

"Okay, see ya."

"Bye Nico." Percy said and I left the movie theater with Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this twice.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12

(Nico's POV)

"Call me when you're done" my dad said as I got out of the car. "Okay" I shut the door and walked in the building. The grouchy woman behind the counter glared at me as I made my way to the elevator. I got my phone and looked at the text Percy sent me, '8th floor, room 825.' I was a little unnerved going through Percy's apartment building by myself, but I eventually made it to his door.

He answered with his usual smile. "Hey, come in." I walked in and set my backpack on the table. "So what do you want to start with?" I asked. He hummed, "I don't want to read anything and Math gives me a headache." I began to pull things out of my backpack, "okay, we will do our History paper."

"Can we do a little Italian?" he asked. "Um, we have no words yet."

"I know but that doesn't mean you can't teach me something." I plugged my laptop into the wall, "Okay. Fine. We will do a few of Italian things after we get our homework done." He groaned "Fine."

We took out the information we collected for the History paper and worked on that for about two hours. Percy would stop and goof off and I would try to keep him focused.

The next thing we had was Math. We did the problems on the sheet and I tried to keep Percy from quitting before it was done. He was very difficult when he wanted to be.

After another hour of math, I made Percy read his English book for twenty minuets. He objected that strongly but he had to. "I hate reading. In twenty minutes I would read like half a page." I rolled my eyes, "You can read faster than that."

"No I can't." he argued.

"How do you usually read school books then?"

"I listen to the audio book." I sighed, "Okay, listen to the next chapter, but I want you read along with it." Percy frowned, "Why?"

"It will help you. Just do it so we can move on." He grumbled but he still did it. I couldn't believe I got him to do it.

I read my book and constantly checked to make sure he was paying attention to the words and not getting distracted. Percy was ADHD so it was important I checked on him from time to time. He took the ear buds out of his ears. "Okay, I've finished chapter 10. Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it. You still wanna do some Italian?" He thought for a moment, "yea. But can we take a break first? I think my brain has melted." I smiled slightly, "Yeah, what do you want to do?" Percy looked down at the table, "I'm hungry. Are you?" I nodded, "Yeah. I didn't have lunch." Percy got up and I followed him to the kitchen.

"Let's see, we got hot dogs, yogurt, we can make a sandwich with chips?"

"Sandwich and chips sounds good." Percy got out ham, cheese and other stuff. He turned to the counter and got the bread and chips. "Barbecue or regular?"

"Barbecue" I said and got out four pieces of bread. We made our sandwiches and went into the living room. Percy turned on the TV and we watched Criminal Minds. We kinda got carried way with the TV and watched it for about 2 hours.

"Are we going to do some Italian? I need to be home soon." Percy looked at the clock and sighed, "Yeah." He turned off the TV and we returned to the table.

"I guess I can teach you random things." I didn't have a guide on what phrases to say so I picked a random one, "Merry Christmas, is Buon Natale."

"Buon Natale" he repeated.

"Yeah, if you want to write it down that would be fine." He got out a piece of paper and wrote down the greeting. "Uh, thank you, is grazie." Percy said it and after a few times, he got it right and wrote that down. I tried to think of another one but my brain wasn't really thinking about words, it was focused on Percy.

It annoyed me so much. Percy was looking at me again. I looked over at him; his eyes portrayed a look of conflict. "Please repeat" I said, not taking my eyes off him. "Is per favore ripetere." He looked confused, "what?"

"Por- favro- piretede."

"Por favor ripetere" he said. I shook my head. "Roll the R. Favorrrrre."

"Favorrre" he didn't roll the R, he just dragged the sound out. "Like a cat purr rrrrrr. But don't drag it out too much."

He tried again, but failed. I placed two fingers under his chin at the top of his windpipe. I wanted to feel the vibrations when he did it. "Try again rrrrrrr."

"Rrrrrr. Favore." His voice was quite, his face was only inches from mine. I looked into his green eyes, and leaned in. Our lips connected and my body immediately tingled. His lips tasted like barbecue and moved slowly with mine.

My hand moved from his chin to his cheek, and the other on his neck. His hands rested on top of mine. I slowly pulled away and met his eyes quickly before looking down. I had kissed Percy Jackson. I felt like curling up in a little ball in a dark corner. "I'm sorry" I said quietly. I started put my notes in a pile to leave.

"Don't be sorry" he said. I thought I was going to cry. I kissed Percy Jackson and now he knows. He knows everything. "Nico I like you." I stopped and looked at him, "don't try to make me feel better."

"I'm not. I've been trying to tell you for days now. I really do like you."

I didn't know what to think. There was no way he liked me. No possible way. "It's true Nico. Please believe me."

I looked at the floor, "I've been in love with you since I was 13." I whispered, "If this is a joke it's a very cruel one."

"Why would you think it a joke?" I could hear the frown in his voice. He stood up, "Nico, I really do like you. I wouldn't joke about that."

I looked at him and I could see the hurt in his eyes. "I like you too Percy." I was allowing this to happen. I couldn't believe it. He smiled, "so, would you like to go on a date...with me?" I nodded, "yeah. I would." His smile widened and he made a little nervous laugh.

I stepped closer and, ignoring the voice in my head, I kissed him again. It took my breath away. Percy pulled me closer and the kiss deepened. It was the best thing that could've happened that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the kiss?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13

(Percy's POV)

Nico left about an hour after we kissed. I just sat on the couch, lost in my thoughts. He kissed me... I couldn't believe he kissed me. The whole thing left me dazed. Mom and Paul walked through the door, interrupting the silence. "Hey Percy" Mom greeted. Paul added a question, "how was the studying?" It took me a moment to process the question, "it was fun. What's for dinner?"

"What would you like? I was thinking maybe we could have hamburger helper if that's okay with you guys." I stood and stretched my back, "yeah that's fine. Do you need any help?" She smiled, "I would love for you to help me Percy, thank you." I smiled back, "you're welcome."

...

"Okay class, I graded your papers over the weekend and I have to say, I'm surprised with some of you." I took a deep breath. I knew I had to have gotten a better grade since I knew much more than I did on any other test. Ms. Powell made her way around the room and placed the paper in front of me, "better this time Percy. I guess you paid attention this week."

My jaw dropped in disbelieve as I saw the 80% on top of the paper. I looked over at Nico and showed him the grade. "Good job" he whispered. I grinned, I got a good grade in Italian, and I had Nico to thank for that. After class, Nico and I walked out in the hallway. "Thank you. I didn't think I would get a B in this class." He smiled, "you're welcome."

We got outside and I remembered it was a working day. "I have to go to work; I'll see you at your lesson." Nico nodded and Will showed up to take him home. I became more comfortable with how Nico talks about Will. I realized I was being ridiculous and Nico said Will had his own boyfriend. I kissed Nico goodbye and walked to my car. I had to get home and get ready for work.

...

Nico walked in and got dressed. "What are we doing today teacher?" he joked. I smiled, "We are going to continue were we left off last time." I said as we got in the pool. "Let's go back down to the deep end and work on keeping afloat." Nico looked hesitant. "Nico, you have to learn so you don't drown." Nico narrowed his eyes, "what if I drown while learning?"

"I wouldn't let that happen." I said with a small frown. Nico sighed and followed me down until he couldn't go any deeper, then I helped him the rest of the way. "Okay, loosen up. Stay relaxed and start to kick your feet." He did and I made him go a little slower. "Relax, just float on the water and let your legs and arms move you."

He started to move his arms and I slowly started to loosen my grip. Once I let go completely, he stayed up for about four seconds then lost his balance. I caught him and pulled him closer to me so he would calm down. "Four seconds, you're doing great." He glared at me, "I hate feeling like I'm drowning." I shrugged, "no one likes it. Do you want to go to my house after this?" he nodded. My mom and Paul were supposed to be out until 8:00pm so I thought it wouldn't hurt to have him over for a while.

"Great, now let's try that again." He groaned, "I don't want you to let go." I sighed, "Fine, I won't let go until you say so. Start kicking." He lightly flipped his feet in the water and started to move his arms. I loosed my grip on him a little to give him room. He faltered but didn't stop. I held him for about two minutes then he got tired. "You wear yourself out before going on your own." He glared again and I smiled back. His glare could've been intimating but it wasn't as bad if he didn't mean it much, only if he was mad.

He rested for about another minute, then got back in position and started up again. This time, he waited for about a minute before telling me to let go. I slowly took my hands off his waist and caught him before he could go under. "Better" I said. "The longer you stay up, the better you will get."

"That will take forever." He complained. I laughed, "No it won't. You're doing fine." "Can we do something easy?" I thought about what he could do. "You can swim on your back to the other side of the pool." He got on his back swam easily to the other side and I followed. "It's warmer over here." He pointed out.

"Yeah, the heater is right there" I pointed to the heater on the wall, blowing hot air over the water. "What now?" he asked. I looked at the time. We had 10 minutes left of the lesson. "You can try again? It won't hurt."

"I don't want to" he said. "But you have to. Let's go." I brought him back over to the deep end and he climbed on me, wrapping his legs around my waist in a way of telling me he wasn't going to do it. "Nico." He pecked my lips in response. I narrowed my eyes at him, "Really?" He smiled cheekily. I just sighed, "Fine, but you have to Wednesday."

He kissed me, his fingers tugging lightly at my wet hair. I pressed my hands flat against the back of his wet tee shirt. The timer for his lesson went off, interrupting our kiss. My shift also ended at 6:00 so I was able to take him. "I have to call my dad; he's on his way to pick me up."

"Okay, go do that. I need to sign out." Nico went into the locker room and I walked out of the pool room. "Hey Percy" Reyna greeted. Reyna was another swimming instructor, she was teaching a little girl, who was standing behind her. She was probably around ten years old. I waved at her and she waved back.

"The pool's all yours." Reyna smiled, "go home Percy." I crossed my arms and walked around her, "fine. I got better things to do than talk to you anyways." She scoffed, "yeah right." I didn't look back but I did smile. Reyna and I were good friends. She was a year older than me and went to another school.

I walked up to the front desk to sign out. At that time, Nico walked out of the locker room. "I just have to get dressed and I'll be ready to go." Nico pursed his lips and sat down on a bench outside the locker room. "Whenever you're ready."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 14

(Nico's POV)

"We can go in my room" Percy said and opened his bedroom door. I walked in and saw his room for the first time. The walls were a tannish color, bare with only a movie poster by the closet. His desk was by the window, his bed on the back wall with a nightstand. His dresser on the opposite wall. Percy sat on his bed and plopped his backpack beside him. "If it makes you uncomfortable we can do homework at the table or you can sit at my desk."

I looked at said desk and, like the rest of the room, it was crowded with papers and one of his shirts. He looked over at it and he got up to clean it off. "Sorry about the mess. I'm not the cleanest person." I chuckled and set my backpack down on the foot of the bed. "I can sit at the desk. It will give us more room." Percy got out his textbooks before speaking, "Do you want to do some Italian today? We don't have to. It's not a tutoring day."

"Are you trying to get out of more work?" He kicked a ball of wadded paper across the floor, "Maybe." I rolled my eyes, "if you don't want to, I guess we don't have to." He smiled a little, "you know, we don't have to do math either." I looked at him. He shrugged, "worth a shot." I sat down at the desk after I got my backpack and pulled out our Math assignment.

After about an hour of homework, Percy groaned, "can we take a break? Please?" I sighed and got up, "I guess." Percy smiled and set his work beside him. He patted the mattress and I slowly walked over and sat down. It was a little awkward, and my mind wasn't fully ready to comprehend I was in Percy Jackson's room, alone. "When are your parents coming home?" I asked him. "In about an hour I think." I scooted closer to him.

I looked from my shoes to his eyes, then back to my shoes. He kissed my cheek, causing a slight blush to color my face. I looked at him again and kissed his lips. The kiss was slow and soft. It made my breathing accelerate. When the kiss ended, I looked back down at my shoes.

"You can look at me Nico." he said jokingly. I looked at him and kissed him again. It was a new feeling I was trying to get used to. Having a boyfriend, and kissing him. But I didn't want to move too fast.

"Your room smells weird" I said. He laughed, "Sorry." I smiled slightly and got up off the bed. "Where are you going?" I answered his question without looking at him. "I need to go to the bathroom."

The bathroom was right by his room. I closed the door and stared in the mirror.

I couldn't wrap my mind around what was going on. I was kissing Percy Jackson. I liked kissing him, but it made me lose my breath. Part of me was still in shock that Percy would like me in the first place. But I knew it was just that voice of doubt in the back of my head.

The more I thought about it, the more I started to convince myself it was all a prank. Like at any moment Percy would just smile and say "gotcha." But I doubted that. Even though it was unbelievable he liked me back in the first place. It just wasn't him to do something that cruel.

I returned to the bedroom and Percy was just laying there with his eyes closed. I sat on the edge of the bed, my weight caused him to open his eyes and look at me. "Are you ready to read now?" I asked, even though I knew what he was going to do. He groaned, "I guess. Why are you making me do all this work? I don't have to read every day."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really, so when do you read the book for class?"

"I listen the day before." I rolled my eyes, "Really? You would get more done if you do a chapter a day. And, you won't get tired and zone out so you will listen to it and understand it." He cocked his head slightly to the side, "you're smart." I sighed, "Get your phone and your book." I got my book out.

I sat on the bed at the bottom and started where I left off. Percy sighed and got his stuff out. After he was done with the chapter, I made him wait until I was done. He played with his pen. I would watch him as he swung the pen around like a sword. He was one weird person. It was a bit distracting through. I got done and we moved on to mythology homework. We had to study Achilles for a test Tuesday.

"Are you good in this class? I like this one." I twirled my pencil between my fingers, "Yeah, I like Greek and Roman mythology." I read through the list for the things we had to do. We had to fill out a worksheet of major events. It didn't take long to do that. "I'm done. Homework is complete." I closed my textbook and pushed it away. Percy sighed, then I heard the front door open and Percy's mom's voice, "Percy, are you home?"

"In here mom" Percy called back. His mom came into view, "Oh, hi Nico. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." I waved. Percy spoke, "No we're done. What's for dinner?" His mom smiled, "We are having chicken. You can stay if you want Nico." I was hungry, and I didn't think my dad would mind.

"I would love to but I have to ask my dad first."

"Of course. Just know you are welcome to stay." I smiled, "thank you." She walked back into the living room. "Please stay" Percy said. "I have to ask my dad. I think he wanted me home by now." I got on my phone and called my dad.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad? Can I stay for dinner at a friend's house? I'll come home afterwards."

"Do I know this friend?" I rolled my eyes; he was so over protective sometimes. "Yes, it's Percy. Percy Jackson?" A slight pause, "Oh, him. I guess. Do you need me to pick you up? I might not be able to. I got to go in early tomorrow and I have to go to bed."

"Um, hold on." I took the phone away from my ear and looked at Percy, "can you drive me home after dinner?" He nodded, "of course." I put the phone back to my ear. "Don't worry about it. He will take me home afterwards."

"Okay, don't stay out too late. It's a school night."

"Bye dad."

"Love you." I hung up.

"I can stay." Percy grinned, "Great. My mom makes the best chicken." I laughed. Then a thought came to me that made my nerves spike up. "Did you tell them... about us?"

I didn't tell my dad about even liking Percy. He only knew him as a friend. Percy used to come over to my house when we first move to New York. That was how I found out I liked him, the way I felt when he came over...

"No. I didn't tell them anything." I sighed, "me either." We were silent for a moment, until Percy spoke, "I want to tell them though. We can do it now." My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth, "No! Not now. Unless you want to. But I don't... no."

Percy laughed, "Don't worry. I'm not going to make you tell them anything. I'll just wait until you leave." Even though that calmed me down a little, I was still nervous about the parents finding out. I knew my dad will accept my sexuality, but maybe not Percy.

It's not that he hates him, but Percy isn't his favorite person in the world. I just didn't know how he would take the news. "But I might wait because if they find out then they wouldn't let us be in my room alone anymore." I raised an eyebrow, "Parents do have dirty minds." He laughed, "They do." We sat there quietly in comfortable silence. I met his eyes, and again, he smiled before kissing me.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Percy asked a moment after our kiss ended. "Sure." He got up and walked to his dresser. There was a wooden box on top. Percy grabbed it and lifted the lid.

"This is my sea shell collection. I thought I would show it to you since you are going to the beach this summer. I've been collecting these for years." I got the box and picked one up. It looked like it was from a large clam. It was a cream colored shell with pink and purple colored stripes on the inside.

He had about seventy of them, all different shapes and colors. "They're beautiful" I said and handed the box back to him. "My mom and I used to go to this beach, Montauk, during the summer when I got back from boarding school. It was a trip just for me and her." I knew he used to go to boarding school, a new school each year because he would get expelled before summer. That was how Hazel met him.

He was at the school we were in when we moved here and they ended up being good friends. They stayed in touch, even though Percy transferred over to every school in the area. I think Goode High School was the only school he stayed in for more than a year. "That's cool. Are you going again this year?"

"I think we are. We go every year." Ms. Jackson's voice called from the kitchen, "Percy, Nico!" Percy set the box back down and I followed him out of the room.

"Are you staying Nico?" Percy's mom asked as we walked in. "Yes ma'am. Thank you for having me." She smiled, "Oh no problem sweetie. And call me Sally." I gave a weak smile back. The only other family I was used to was the Solaces. Even with them I was still quiet and unsure. I knew getting used to Percy's family would be a long, stressful process.

"Do you like chicken? We are going to have fried chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and corn."

"Sounds good" I said. I was thinking I should say something else but I couldn't think of anything. "Can we help with anything?" Percy asked and put his arm around her shoulders. "Uh, yes you can. Would you mind putting some water on the shove to boil?"

"No problem" he answered. We both washed our hands and Percy got out a boiler and filled it with water. He put the eye on high and set the boiler down. "So Nico, how have you been?"

"I've been okay. My dad got promoted and I'm learned how to swim." Not much to tell, but at least I tried. "Oh, that's nice. Percy being good to you?" Percy looked at her with a strange look. I bit back a smile, "yeah, he's okay. How are you?" I wanted to take the attention off of me and listen to other people talk for a while, a nice thing I did to get out of talking anymore than I wanted to.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking." She battered the raw chicken breast in a white power. "Could you get the milk out for me please?" Percy got the milk out of the fringe and set it on the counter. "How did you do on your test?"

"Great! I got B" Percy said with an excited voice. I couldn't help but smile. He was so happy to get a good grade, it made me wonder how bad he needed a tutor. "Really? Oh that's wonderful."

I listened to Percy and his mother talk for a while as we prepared dinner. Soon, Paul came in the kitchen. "Oh hello Nico."

I lifted my hand in a friendly gesture. I wasn't used to being around so many new people, one was enough for me. I met Sally when I was 12, but I haven't talked to her in a while. I was avoiding Percy as much as possible so I didn't see her for a few years. I barely knew Mr. Blofis since he taught a higher grade. I'd seen him around school though, I just never talked to him.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I heard you were tutoring Percy in Italian?"

"He is" Sally cut in, "And Percy got a B on Friday's test." Paul raised his eyebrows, "Wow, you must be good." My cheeks heated up, I hated compliments.

"You need a hair cut" Sally commented and ran her fingers through Percy's black hair. "Mom" Percy swatted her hand away. "Look at it, it's getting shaggy." Percy looked at me quickly and back at his mother. "I don't need a hair cut."

"You should get a hair cut." Sally said. Paul laughed and I held in mine. It was getting hard to do though when she started to chase him around the kitchen. It was obvious she was only bugging him. But it was still funny. My dad did things like that with Hazel and me all the time. He always tried to make us laugh. I didn't always like the things he did, because it annoyed me. But I knew he was only trying to make up for the time he spent working. It was a weird way to do it though.

"Dinner is almost done. We are only waiting on the chicken." Sally explained once she stopped bugging Percy about his hair. She checked the chicken again. "Do you two boys mind setting the table please?" Paul asked. Percy got out some plates and he told me where the silverware was. I got out four forks and knives and followed Percy to the table. Percy went around, placing the plates down and I followed him, giving each plate a fork and a knife.

Percy got a roll of paper towels and set them on the table after setting one with each plate. We helped Sally and Paul bring all the food to the table and finally sat down. Percy sat beside me, we sat across his mom and soon to be step dad. I looked over at Sally's hands and saw the diamond ring on her left hand. Percy passed me the potatoes and I got a blob of them.

I didn't get much because I'm not a big eater of mashed potatoes, but I wanted to make a good impression and not make them think I was a spoiled brat who didn't appreciate it. I got a little of everything and we started to eat. Sally could really cook. The meat was tender and was seasoned perfectly. "So, have you picked a date for the wedding?" Percy asked them.

They looked at each other and smiled, "not really. But we decide it might be in the winter. Or early spring next year."

"Sounds good." Percy said and cut into his chicken. I didn't want to be rude and seem like I was uninterested in their wedding, but I also didn't want to invade their personal business. I decided to ask a question anyway, a safe question.

"When did he propose?"

"About a week ago." Sally answered. She didn't act like it was a personal question. I know it was stupid for me to worry about that but I worried about a lot things that really weren't worth it.

I glanced to my side at Percy and he did the same at the same time. I looked away quickly and looked at my plate. I heard him snicker. I ignored it and ate more of my corn. They talked a little more about things. I just listened and focused on eating all my food. I hated eating at other people's houses. When I did, I felt like I was under a microscope.

"You have a way to get home right?" Sally asked as I helped bring the dishes to the sink. "Yeah, Percy said he will take me."

"That's fine but it is getting late. Hurry back, it's a school night." She said to Percy. "I will I will." She kissed his cheek and we went back to his room. I packed my stuff up and Percy got his keys.

We walked out of the apartment building, the cool/warm air was welcoming. "What did you think?" Percy asked as he put the key in the ignition. "I had fun. Your mom can cook." Percy smiled, "Yeah she can."

The ride was more relaxed than all the other times I rode with him. It was getting easier to be alone. "You know, I think my mom is expecting something." Percy said. "Why?" I was worried if I did something to hint off that I liked her son.

"She had that look in her eye. She knows something. I'm almost sure of it."

"Are you going tell her tonight?" I wanted to know so I would be aware of how to act when we were around his parents. "No, not tonight. But I might tell them soon. I hate keeping things from her." Percy was close to his mother, which was obvious. I thought it was a nice change. Most teenagers wouldn't give their parents the time of day. "I haven't told my friends yet either." Percy said slowly.

"Did you tell anyone?" I asked. I told Will, that's because if I didn't he would kill me when he found out.

"No, I didn't. I didn't know if you were ready to tell anyone. I will if you give me the green light. It's up to you." Letting the whole school know I was gay, I didn't know if that was a good idea. But our parents would've needed to know sooner or later and his friends would've found out. "I don't think I'm ready for that. We can tell our parents but, I'm not ready for the school to find out."

Percy sighed and pulled into my driveway. "Nico, come out when you're ready. But know that you're not alone." I stared at the dashboard, taking in his words. His seat creaked and I felt his lips on my cheek. "Good night Nico. I'll see you tomorrow."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15

(Percy's POV)

I sat down at Nico's lunch table with Nico and Will. He asked me to sit with him after our basketball game so I could get know Will better. "Hey guys" I said set my tray down. My appearance seemed to have startled them out of a little argument they were having. "Hey Percy" Nico greeted without looking at me.

Will huffed and turned his attention back at me. "So, he refuses to tell me anything. How did it happen?" I swallowed down my embarrassment as Nico nearly jumped out of his chair. "Will!"

"What? I told you I'll ask him." Nico glared, "yeah and I told you not to." I wondered if they always bickered like that. It was quite funny actually. It wasn't a serious fight. Will clearly only wanted to get under Nico's skin. I picked at my stake fingers as the argument died down. "Are you driving him home today?" Will asked me another question. I nodded, "We have our tutoring lesson today."

"Good. Because I already made plans." Nico narrowed his eyes, "what is that supposed to mean?" Will shrugged, "I made plans with Jake."

"Who's Jake?" I asked, finally seeing a slot in the conversation. "Jake Mason. His boyfriend of two days." Nico answered with a sarcastic look to Will. The thought settled in my mind. Will had a boyfriend. A new one, but it didn't matter. A deep worry seemed to unbind itself deep inside my stomach. All my previous thoughts seemed really stupid at that moment forward. Will then became a likeable guy.

"I think he's in my science class. Nice guy." Will nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he is a nice guy. Someone I could spend time with when Mr. Princess over here is busy." That time Nico almost knocked him out of his chair. Despite the punch, Will was laughing. I tried to stop smiling, but it didn't work.

...

I knew he was watching me, he always watched me during my swim practice. I didn't mind though, I thought it was funny how he thought I didn't notice. We walked out of school and got into my car. "Do you want to go somewhere before we go to my house?" Nico looked at me, "where?"

"Annabeth has invited us to McDonald's." His curious expression turned into a slight frown, "why?" I honestly didn't know why. But, I told her we would go. "I don't know, but she really wanted us to come." Nico sighed, "Okay, we can go." I smiled and drove over to the restaurant.

Annabeth was already there, waiting by the front door. She waved at us as we got out of the car. "Hey guys. Hungry?" I then knew why she wanted to meet up with us. She wanted to see if we were finally together. I haven't told anyone, not even her and it was driving her crazy.

We walked in to see only a few people in line. "What are you getting?" I asked Nico. He pulled out his wallet out of his back pocket. "I want chicken nuggets." He pulled out a five and handed it to me. "Order it for me please. I have to go to the bathroom." He ran off and left us in the line. "I'm going to find out." she muttered beside me. I smiled, "good luck with that because I'm not telling."

"You are together aren't you?" she grinned. "Maybe" I shrugged, knowing I was getting on her nerves. She glared at me and got up to the counter to order her food. I ordered Nico's and mine since he hasn't come back yet. "Let's sit over here." Annabeth led me to a table by the window. I saw Nico come around the corner and joined us. "Just in time" I laughed. He smiled weakly, "thanks."

I noticed Annabeth watching us, so I just smiled cheekily at her. A guy then walked up to our table, "Annabeth?" She turned to look at him. "Oh hi Justin." The guy smiled at her, "what's up?"

"Oh nothing much, I'm just getting something to eat with my friends. Wanna join us?" She looked over at Nico and me, "do you mind?" We shook your heads, "of course not." She smiled again and looked back at Justin. Justin shrugged, "okay then. Let me just go order and I'll join you."

Justin walked back up to the front. Annabeth turned back in her seat. Her face was slightly flushed like she was just in the cold. She noticed I was looking at her and gave me that watch it look. I decided to pick on her, "You like him." She glanced behind her, "shut up Seaweed Brain." Nico snickered. I narrowed my eyes at him, "you think that's funny huh?"

He straightened up and cleared his throat, "yes." Annabeth laughed. Justin came back and sat beside Annabeth.

I found out he was in her math class. They had a lot in common, both got A's, they both inspired to be architects, and they both liked art. I thought Annabeth would be happier with someone she can relate to better. I had already moved on so it was great to know Annabeth was moving on as well.

After an hour of talking, Nico reminded me we still had our tutoring lesson.

"We need to go, but we'll see you later" I said and gathered out trash. We all exchanged our goodbyes and left Annabeth and Justin alone. I honestly thought Annabeth liked it better that way.

Nico and I left and drove to my apartment. "We are learning animals this week" Nico said as we got out of the car. "Yeah, they are easy right? I like the easy ones." He rolled his eyes, "they're okay. And you have to get used to the hard words." I scoffed and pushed the elevator button.

"Can we work in my room again? I like it better in there?" I asked. He nodded, "sure. But you need to focus." I rolled my eyes playfully and headed to my room.

We set our stuff up on the bed and I was happy to know that Nico was going to sit on my bed with me. It was a sign of trust I guess. The fact that he didn't sit with me last time but did it this time said a lot.

Nico got out his notes and I did the same, along with some flashcards. I liked those things, it was easy to study with them.

"The first word is wolf, lupo." I said the word and wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Next is dog, cane." I wrote that one down as well. I liked hearing him speak Italian, he had an accent that was blended with American and Italian. Speaking Italian brought out his Italian side. I loved it.

He continued to tell me the words and helping me pronounce them and I would write them down. After we went through all the words, we took a break from Italian. Unfortunately to Nico that meant doing math homework. I groaned, like I usually did, but did the worksheet anyway. Quickly.

"Now can we take a real break? I'm tired of homework."

"After you do your flashcards." I huffed, he was strict, but doing homework with him made it go faster. Maybe it was because he never let me procrastinate. "But my hand is cramping." I started to massage my hand to prove my point. He rolled his eyes, "fine. Five minutes." I smiled, I knew that wouldn't work again for a while, but at least I stalled homework for about five minutes.

He put his math homework away and laid down on the mattress. I laid down beside him and faced him. Our eyes met and I smiled at him. He smiled back and averted his gaze to the blanket. "Do I get anything for doing everything you ask me to?"

"You mean complain about everything I ask you to do?" I shrugged, "I still did it." The corners of his mouth lifted a little. He leaned forward for a kiss. I took his lips with mine and enjoyed his reward.

The kiss grew longer, I took this opportunity to run my fingers through his soft, dark hair. He moved a little closer and rested his hand on my shoulder. I pulled him closer by his waist and left my hand there on his hip. He didn't seem to mind. The kiss grew a little faster and the need for air grew as well. It finally separated us, which I wasn't ready for. Nico sat up, panting slightly. "Come on, let's get back to work."

I sat up and looked at him. He sighed, "if we finish our homework in enough time, then we can move on to other things." I caught on to what he was saying, and started my flashcards without another word.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 16

(Nico's POV)

I changed out of my sweaty clothes. We lost to The Black Panthers, but it was a close game. Only two points behind. "Good game," Percy said, sitting on the bench by my locker. "Yeah I guess. We can't win every time." Percy smiled and glanced down at his phone. He was checking his text messages.

I sat beside him to wait for the bell to ring. "I would like for us to move on today in our swimming lesson," Percy said suddenly. "I'm trying. I'm just not good at it." He turned his phone off and laid it on his thigh. "You are good at it. It just takes practice. All I'm saying is that you have to try harder today."

I waited a moment, then nodded. "Okay." I looked around the locker room, only to meet the glaring eyes of Clayton Fox. His facial expression portrayed a look of pure hatred. I glared back. In no way was I intimidated by him. If he'd dared to do anything, I would have knocked the teeth out of his mouth.

The bell finally rung and he slipped out the door with his friends in tow. Percy stood and slipped his phone in his back pocket. "What do you have next?" Percy asked as we walked down the hallway. "English." He huffed out a laugh, "hope you pass the pop quiz." I groaned, "a pop quiz? On what?"

"All the books we've read so far in the past two months." I sighed and walked through the cloud of students to get to my locker. "I'll see ya later," Percy said and disappeared down the hall.

...

At lunch, Jake sat with us instead of Percy. He could have sat with us too, but I figured since we would be spending the rest of the day together, it wasn't a big deal. Besides, I wanted to get some revenge on Will and didn't want Percy to see how mean I could be.

Will turned completely red once I told the story how he fell in the park and got a rock stuck up his nose. The fire department had to come and help him blow it out. Jake couldn't help but laugh. "It could happen to anybody!" Will protested, which only made us laugh more. Jake wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, "I'm sorry Will. But that is funny." Will glared at me from across the table.

I just shrugged, he had it coming.

...

Will wasn't talking to me as he drove to my house. He just glared at the road through the windshield. "Oh come on Will. You did it to me." He sighed, "I know, but that's different." I rolled my eyes, "Get over it, you big baby." His frown deepened, "I'm not a baby."

"Then stop acting like one." He sighed again and pulled into my driveway. "Fine, we're even. Truce?" He stuck his hand out, and I took it, "truce."

Will leaned back in his seat, "well, see ya tomorrow, Asshole." I glared at him before getting out of the car. I was surprised to see my dad's car in the driveway. "Dad?" I called once I got in the door.

"In here" he answered from the living room. I sat beside him with caution. I wanted to know why he was home from work early. "How was school?" he asked and turned down the TV. "Fine, I guess. Nothing new happened." He nodded and leaned his head back into the couch with his eyes closed.

He worked a lot. So when he got the chance to relax he took full advantage of it. "You're home early," I said slowly, trying to get him to talk. He exhaled through his nose and opened his eyes, "yeah, about that. I have to go away for a few days. There's been another murder in Tyler Texas. They're expecting a serial killer. I should be back by Monday."

I slumped back into the couch. Another business trip. "So, I was thinking after your lesson, we three can go out for a family dinner like we always do."

Every time my dad went on a trip, he would come home early the day before and take Hazel and me out for some family time. I appreciated those moments since I knew I would miss him like crazy. "Go ahead and do your homework now so you don't have to worry about it later."

"Okay," I said softly. I grabbed my backpack and headed to my room.

...

I watched Percy climb down into the pool. "Remember, try harder today."

"I will. Just be patient with me." I said, trying not to shiver as my toes touch the water. I let Percy carry me to the deep end, which was a bit embarrassing. I was an independent person, and I could do things on my own, except when it came to swimming.

"Relax, and let go," Percy said in a calming voice. I unwrapped my legs from his waist, then began to use my feet as flippers. My arms then joined in. I kept checking each part to make sure it was moving smoothly.

When I seemed like I was steady, Percy lets go. Without his support, my body felt like it should fill in for him. So my limbs sped up, causing me to lose my balance. Percy grabbed me before the water reached my bottom lip.

I gripped his tee-shirt in an effort to steady myself. "Try not to speed up after I let you go. That seems to be your only problem" Percy stated, pushing a clump of hair out of my eyes. "I'm trying!" I yelled. I was so frustrated knowing I was making a fool of myself and could barely do anything about it.

Percy held me back in position, "just relax. And remember, it's just like quicksand." I started up again, checking on each part so they worked together. Once I knew I was stable, I prepared myself for Percy to let go. Just keep moving, just keep moving, just keep moving.

Percy lets go. I did my best to keep my pace. And I did. I didn't speed up or slow down. I didn't feel panicked or nervous. I just moved in the water.

Percy grinned at me, "perfect." The water lapped up on my lips as I tried to keep myself up.

"Now, let's do it again to make sure it wasn't just luck." Percy pulled me closer to him, and I took this chance to rest. Swimming tires you out.

Without knowing what I was doing, I laid my head in the crook of his neck. His warm skin felt good against the cold water. The rhythm of his breathing relaxed me in a way.

His grip on my waist tightened. "Don't fall asleep," he said jokingly. "Oh, uh... sorry." I tried to cover up my embarrassment.

"It's fine, Nothing to apologize for." He smiled a reassuring smile and loosened his grip. I was a bit apprehensive about doing it again. If it was luck, then I would've had to try fifty more times just to get it right, which would have sucked.

I did everything I had done the last time and was surprised when I stayed up. I was swimming, actually moving my body to the waves and doing it all on my own. That was the best part, not having to rely on Percy so much in the water.

"This is great!" Percy said, "we can finally move on." I wanted to glare at him, but I was afraid of losing my balance.

"Okay, now we can move on to the fun stuff! This next move is like swimming on your back, but you're on your stomach instead" Percy explained. Luckily I knew how to swim on my back, but doing it on the other side brought new problems.

I had trouble keeping my face out of the water, and it hurt my neck to hold my head up like Percy said to. With that problem, it was hard to focus on my swimming. I was just thankful Percy stayed by my side the whole time.

"Hold your breath. Use that as motivation to swim quickly. Just like swimming on your back, your feet should move like flippers and your arms should pull you along."

I took his words in carefully and did what he said. I took a deep breath and began to move my limbs. My feet splashed behind me as I pulled myself through the water.

A hand was placed on my back to stop me. I was surprised to find out I swam all the way over to the other side. "You did great. Just have to learn how to look up to see where you're going and to get breaths of air. But we've run out of time."

I was half sad and half glad my lesson was over. Sad because I was making progress, and glad because I was looking forward to spending time with my dad. I had always missed him when he left, and finally having some family time was a relief.

I pulled my phone out of my bag before putting in my wet clothes. My dad had sent a message to inform me he was on his way to pick me up. I slipped my phone in my back pocket, and towel dried my hair the best I could.

When I walked out of the locker room, Percy was going over my schedule. "Hey, my dad is going on a business trip tomorrow. He won't be back until Monday." Percy set the clipboard down, "where is he going?"

"Texas, a serial killer." Percy frowned, the news of a serial killer loose anywhere isn't really good news. "So, I was thinking since he would be gone, we could do homework at my house. It would just be me and Hazel, but she spends most of her time out with friends, so fewer chances of distractions."

I hoped he didn't get the wrong idea. I didn't want to 'get him alone' or anything. I just saw the perfect opportunity to have him at my house without my dad seeing him. I still hadn't found a way to tell Percy my dad didn't like him very much.

Percy's eyebrow raised, "okay, that's fine." I mentally cursed myself out for using the words I did. "I gotta go. My dad's waiting for me. We're having a family dinner before he has to leave tomorrow."

"Have fun. I'll call you later." Percy said. I hesitated slightly, but then leaned in for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to have a little drama in this story. Not much though because I wanted this to be a cute and fluffy AU.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17

(Percy's POV)

Nico and I walked down the hallway. I still had my swim practice before we could go to his house. "I gotta 79% on the pop quiz," I said. "What did you make Brainiac?" His eyebrows scrunched together, "95%. And I'm not a brainiac. I'm just smarter than you."

"Ouch," I said, pretending it hurt more than it did. Nico stopped walking, "I'm sorry." He looked afraid that he done something wrong. I laughed, "it's okay Nico." I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He gave me a small smile.

Three guys came around the corner. Immediately, the feeling in the air changed. Nico yanked his hand free from mine.

"Well hello, Nico. Where are you two going?" I recognized him as Clayton Fox, the same guy who was messing with Nico during P.E. "Well, if you would get your head out of your ass, then you would know we're going somewhere that doesn't concern you." Nico retorted.

Clayton glared, "how about you put your money where your mouth is?" Nico's eyes were watching their every move; his hands were fists at his sides. "No problem," he said slowly, his words slick with venom.

I've had my fair share of school fights, and it was clear Nico was about to get into one. The problem was, I wasn't positive Nico would be able to take on Clayton, especially if his two friends were going to help. They were bigger, taller, older.

"But I rather not do this on school property, the last thing I need is to deal with Mr. Perrimon" Clayton grumbled.

"He doesn't need to find out," Nico said and slipped off his backpack. He advanced, and all three looked ready to pounce. I was about say something, but Nico beat me to it.

"Wow Clayton, can't you fight for yourself?" he snorted. Clayton's nostrils flared, "they won't interfere, as long as your boyfriend promises to do the same." His eyes flickered to me. I put my arms up, "it's not my fight."

Nico looked relieved that I agreed not to step in. His anger radiated off him and for one second, all the doubts I had about Nico winning just fell through the floor. In fact, the look on Nico's face made me glad he liked me.

Clayton made the first move, taking a jab at Nico's left cheek. He slammed into the wall with a groan. I gripped the strap of my backpack. I wanted to do something, but I promised not to.

Nico stood back up, then blocked Clayton's next punch. He kicked Clayton in the stomach and punched him in the nose. Clayton stumbled back, clutching his nose. A little blood trickled down between his fingers. Nico pressed his fingers to his cheek to checked for blood. There was none, just a nasty bruise.

Clayton recovered quickly and punched at Nico again, this time connecting with Nico's shoulder. Nico countered with his fist slamming into Clayton's jaw, though not hard enough to cause real damage.

The fight was hard to watch. I didn't like Nico being swung around and hit, but he handled himself pretty well. With every move Clayton made, Nico was able to counter it. He was quick and smart with everything he did.

Clayton took another jab at Nico's face, but Nico caught his fist. He twisted his arm in an 80-degree angle, and then flung him into his two friends. They all clattered to the floor like surprised bowling pins. Nico grabbed his backpack off the floor, "see ya Clayton!" He took hold of my arm and dragged me down the hall to the nearest exit.

We didn't say anything until we were in my car. "Wow Nico" was all I was able to say. Nico tried to say something, but winced. That's when I saw how bad his cheek really was. "Let's go put some ice on that," I said and pulled out of the parking lot.

His house wasn't that far away. I was glad for that because I could tell how much pain Nico was in. He held his cheek the whole ride and kept looking at it in the mirror. It looked painful too, reddish purple and swollen.

"Do you have a First Aid kit?" I asked. He tried to mask the pain he but didn't do a good job. "It's above the sink in the bathroom," he said, filling a Ziploc bag full of ice.

The First Aid kit was on the middle shelf in the medicine cabinet. I looked around and finally noticed the di Angelo's remodeled their house since the last time I've been there. It was nice looking, classic but had a comfortable feel to it.

When I returned with the kit, Nico was sitting on the couch, the ice pack on his cheek. I crouched in front of him and found the pain ointment.

"This is a really bad bruise" I noted. "It doesn't hurt that much," he said, then winced as I dabbed some ointment on his cheek. "Well, he got a bloody nose, so I guess it's even." I tried to rub the medicine in, but I was only hurting him more. "Sorry. Here, you do it." I handed him a small mirror. He used it as he gently spread the ointment across the bruise.

I placed a band aid on it, which he didn't seem too happy about. "Just keep that ice on it to help the swelling." I cleaned everything up and sat beside him. "Feel better?" He nodded, moving the ice pack with him. "I'm glad my dad isn't here to see this" he murmured.

I gave him a sympathetic smile. "We still have to do our homework," I said. He sighed, "Okay. Let's go."

We went up to his room, which was the first time I've been in his room for years. The walls were white with black furniture. On the wall beside the door, was a black shelf. It held a large, bronze pirate ship sculpture. "You like pirates?" I asked him. Nico looked over his shoulder, "yeah, I love pirates."

I remembered him running around talking about this card game he liked. "Didn't you used to play this game with cards?" His face got red, "uh, yeah. But... I'm not into it anymore."

I sat on his bed beside him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

His slight blush was seen on his other cheek. I smiled and did it again. "Percy!" he said, trying to suppress his own smile. "Yes?" I asked, almost laughing. "If you're going to kiss me, then kiss me." His confidence drew me to his lips. I was gentle since I didn't want to hurt his cheek, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the kiss.

"Okay, let's get to work," Nico said and pulled out his homework. Doing homework with him, somehow, made time fly by. I studied my flashcards the night before to impress him, and I did. I only got 5 words wrong, which earned me another kiss.

I didn't do my math problems, though. I only wrote down random answers. Teachers don't check for correct answers anyways, only completion. Of course, Nico didn't need to know that tiny little detail.

"All done," I said happily and put away my textbook. "What do you want to do now?" he pressed the ice pack back to his cheek. The swelling had gone down while we were busy with homework. "We can watch a movie" I suggested.

The phone rang, "hold on." He left the room. I laid down on his bed. It was a soft, queen sized bed with a black comforter. Nico came back in a moment later, "hazel will be out for a while. Her, Annabeth and Piper are going to have a day out or something." He laid beside me. We were silent for a while, just looking at each other. Then I sat up on one elbow and leaned down for his lips.

He kissed back slowly, his warm, inviting lips made me feel dazed. I settled down over him, cupping his sore cheek with light fingers. It felt so good to kiss him. It made my skin hot and my mind blank. The only thing I could think about was how good it felt to kiss him.

I felt his dark hair and kissed his good cheek every now and then. His hands rested in my hair and on my neck.

The phone suddenly rang again, startling both of us. Nico got up and answered his phone. "Hey, Dad." I sat up and hung my legs over the edge of his bed. He talked to his dad while pacing the room. "And you are in a safe place at all times?" Nico asked. "I know but I'll feel better knowing you're safe." He walked into the hall to finish his conversation.

When he got off of the phone, he returned to the room. Nico came over, sitting beside me. "So, about that movie..." I said slowly.

"Yeah. We can get on Netflix." He paused, "do you want to watch movies in here, or in the living room?" Nico's bed was comfortable, and I liked the idea of being in his room rather than the living room.

"Here is fine."

Nico and I kinda made a nest with his blankets. We were wrapped together the whole time while watching horror and comedy movies. Ted was a little awkward to watch, but it was funny anyways.

The first time I thought about the time was when my mother called. "Hello?"

"Hey, where are you?" She sounded a little mad, and when I checked the time I knew why. Six hours had passed with just us watching movies. "Sorry, lost track of time. I'm coming home."

"Okay, be careful." I reluctantly crawled out of Nico's warm bed. "I'll see you tomorrow," he says sleepily. I crawled back up for a kiss, "bye Nico."

...

I heard a soft knock on my bedroom door. "Come in," I said. I set my phone down as my mom walked in. "Hey Mom" she smiled and sat on my bed. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" She sighed, "You know you can tell me anything, right?" My mind immediately went to Nico. I wanted to tell her, and there was no problem with me telling her. "Yeah," I said quietly.

"What about Nico?" My head shot up, "you know?"

"Of course I know Percy. It's obvious." I wasn't too surprised, my mother was very smart. But still, I wondered how she knew from one dinner.

"So... you don't have a problem with it?" She cocked her eyebrow, "why would I have a problem with it? If you like each other, then you should be together. There's no shame in that."

I smiled, "thanks, Mom." She returned the smile, "I love you, Percy. Just know you can always talk to me." She kissed my forehead. "Oh and, please come home when you're supposed to. Or at least call." I nodded, "I will."

She gave me a hug before she left the room.

I wondered why I was so hesitant to tell her about Nico in the first place. I knew she'd accept it, and she liked Nico. It might've just been the voice of doubt. But it didn't matter, she knew and was happy about it.

It was one of those moments where I knew how lucky I was to have her as a mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn't boring. I noticed this story was getting boring.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18

(Nico's POV)

I got in the waiting car with Will. "Good morning, Death Boy." I glared at him, "Death Boy?"

"Yeah, you look like death. What's wrong?" I sighed, "I didn't sleep well last night." I never slept well when my dad was out of state. It was something I did ever since I was eight. Will knew my dad was in Texas, he also remembered how I did the last time he left.

"Your dad is fine," Will said and started the drive to school. "I know, but I keep thinking about what could happen to him. He's in the same area as a serial killer Will. Do you blame me?"

"No, I don't. I get it, I would be worried too. But didn't he call you this morning?" I thought back to when he told me he was okay, and there was nothing to worry about. Hazel told him I wasn't doing well.

"Yeah, he did." I looked out the window and tried to think past the fact that my dad was studying the dead victims of a serial killer who was still loose. "You see? He's fine." I knew he would be, but that didn't stop myself from over-thinking the situation.

"What happened to your cheek?" His question reminded me to take the Band-Aid off. "Oh, I got into a fight with Clayton yesterday."

The car jolted, "What?!? And I'm just now hearing about this? What happened?" I knew he would react that way, Hazel was worse. She might've been my little sister, but that didn't stop her from acting like my mother.

I told him what happened, leaving out a few details here and there. Will was quiet until I finished. "Wow. I wish I was there to see that."

...

"Finally, I'm so hungry!" I said and got in Percy's car. His swim practices took forever. Percy laughed, "Where do you want to go?"

"Do you like Arby's?" I asked, leaning back against the seat. He did the same to meet my eyes, "I love Arby's." I smiled, "great, let's go." Percy started the car, "drive-thru?"

"Yes please."

We went through Arby's, and I handed Percy the money for my chicken sandwich. "I can pay for it." I shook my head, "when you take me on that date you can pay for my food." His cheeks flushed at the mention of the date he promised a week before. He took the money and combined it with his.

Once we got our food, we parked out in front to eat. Percy got an original beef sandwich with curly fries. He picked one up, a long spiral one. "Get one of yours and we can compare sizes."

I got one of my spiral fries and held it up to his. Percy's was way bigger that mine. He grinned, "I win." I grumbled, "Eat your freakishly long curly fry and leave mine alone." He laughed and ate it.

"So, you think you did well on the test?" Percy hummed, "yeah, but I failed the math quiz." I nodded in agreement, "I did too. Math is a weak subject for me."

We were quite for a moment, then Percy said, "I told my mom last night."

I slowly set my sandwich down. "What did she say?" He shrugged, "she's completely okay with it. Have you told your dad?"

"No, I want to wait. I don't know how he would react."

"To you being gay?" I decided I was going to be honest to him. "No, to me dating you."

"He doesn't like me?" Percy's face turned to a concerned frown. I didn't want it to come out the wrong way, so I chose my words carefully.

"He doesn't hate you, but you irritate him."

"How?"

"I don't know, he once said you irked him to the point where he wanted to leave the state." Percy's eyebrows pressed together and looked away. "Don't worry about it, though. It's not going to change the way I feel about you."

"Will he let you be with me?" he asked.

"Yeah. He doesn't think you're a bad person, but you do get on his nerves." Percy raised his eyebrows and sighed, "Thanks for being honest." I leaned over the console and kissed his cheek, "I like you." He smiled and kissed my lips, "I like you too."

 

"Are you saying I have to write the whole report today?" I grabbed the paper off his desk and handed it to him. "It's due Monday and I would like to go through the weekend without worrying about it. So go ahead and finish the book." Percy got his phone and put his ear buds in. I sat beside him and got my own book to finish the last chapter.

About 3 hours later, we finally finished all our homework. "Done, what do you want to do now?" Percy laid back with his arms behind his head, "I want to rest, my head hurts."

I laid beside him and thought about what happened the day before at my house. Just laying in my bed under the blankets and watching movies. It was a nice way to spend time together, in a quiet empty house, nothing embarrassing could come from it.

Percy turned on his side and looked at me. "How's your cheek?" I shrugged, "it doesn't hurt anymore." The sharp pains from the day before boiled down to a deep throb. But I became so distracted with homework I didn't even feel it until Percy said something.

He was about to respond when my phone rang. It was Will on the other line. "Hey Nico, are you with Percy?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Jake and I were wondering if you wanted to meet up and get something to eat. We can go get Chinese if you guys are up for that."

"Hold on" I looked over at Percy, "do you want to get some Chinese food with Will and Jake?"

"Sure" he sat up. I put the phone back to my ear, "we will be there."

"Great, see you in 30 minutes." I set my phone down and sighed. "Do you mind walking there? It's just a few blocks away."

"No, I don't mind walking. I'd prefer to walk anyway."

We walked down to the restaurant and got a table for four. Will and Jake haven't shown up yet so we just ordered our drinks. The thought of Will having a boyfriend brought Annabeth to mind.

"How is Annabeth?" I asked him. A look appeared on his face that resembled a smirk. "You remember that guy, Justin? They're together now." A sense of relief washed over me. I didn't want any tension between us or between her and Percy.

"That's great," I said. Percy smiled, "yeah, so now I don't have to worry about it being awkward when we all hang out together." He softly pressed his lips to my temple. I bit the inside of my lip to stop myself from smiling.

Will and Jake finally showed up and sat across the table from us. "Glad you could join us. Everyone else was busy" Will said. I glared at him, "you have no one else."

He narrowed his eyes, but I just opened my menu. "What do you want?" Percy asked and looked over my shoulder. "I don't know, I like a lot of stuff here."

"Do you like the sesame chicken? We could get a plate and share it." I looked over the chicken plate, "that would work." The chicken plate came with fried rice and Chow Mein. Sharing it with Percy would make it less expensive for both of us.

We ordered our food and talked while we waited. "So what have you guys been doing all day?" Jake asked us. I looked over at Percy, "um, nothing much. We did homework and got something to eat earlier." Will nodded, "we went to see a movie. Then got hungry."

"So you are learning how to swim. How is that going for you?" Jake asked. I shrugged "fine, I guess."

"You're doing great Nico" Percy chimed in. I rolled my eyes, "thanks, teacher." He made a small laugh.

Our food came back and Percy and I split the food evenly.

"I always thought egg rolls had egg in them," Percy said. I looked through mine, "some can, but these look like they're just chicken and vegetables." Percy nodded, then started to pick out the carrots and cabbage.

After I finished my food, I waited until they were done. "Do you want anything else?" Percy asked. "No, I'm good. I just didn't want to bring anything home." Percy nodded and finished off his rice.

"I gotta go, my mom wants me home in like 30 minutes." Jake said and pulled out the money for his food.

Percy got our bill and we halved the amount. "We'll see you guys later." I waved at them as they left.

Percy and I started walking back to his apartment building. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"We have the swimming lesson, and then I guess we can go to your house," He said.

It was about 7:30, and I knew Percy would have to take me home soon before Hazel got mad. But that thought slipped from my mind when Percy's fingers touched mine.

I flinched at first but then tangled my fingers with his. He smiled, making me controllably smile as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't the best chapter, sorry.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 19

(Percy's POV)

"Perfect. Now I want to test you. Swim over to the deep end and see if you can still hold yourself up." Nico swam over and stayed up above water, only stumbling once on the way there. "Great! Now we can move to the other pool." Nico didn't seem to like that idea too much, "do we have to? I just got used to this one."

"If you don't keep climbing the ladder, you'll never get to the roof." He frowned, "When did you get so motivational?"

"My boss says it's encouraging." Nico got out of the pool, water dripping from his swim trunks. "Well, it's not. It's annoying." I laughed, "I know, but I guess that's kinda the point. Oh and, just to give you a heads up, the water is colder over here."

He stepped in and shivered. He struggled to stay up at first, so I helped him. "Relax. It's no different than being in the other pool."

"Yes it is! It's colder, and there's no safe zone."

"You won't need a safe zone if you just swim."

Nico started to swim so I slowly let him go. But instead of going to the deeper end, he just went to the other side. "That's cheating," I said and followed him. "No, it's not." He clung the edge.

I rolled my eyes, "nice loop hole but it won't work." I pointed to the deep end, "swim that way." He gripped the side harder, "you do it."

"Fine, I'll do it first, and then we'll do it together." I swam down the pool and stopped at the end. "See, it's not bad" I yelled and swam back.

"Now, let's do it together. I won't let you go under, but you have to stay relaxed and keep swimming." He slowly let go of the side of the pool, then steadied himself before swimming over to the other end. I stayed by him the whole time. When he got to the other side, he grabbed the edge. "You made it. Now, swim back."

"No."

"Nico-"

"No." I sighed, "You have 10 minutes of your lesson left, and you want to waste it?"

"Yes." I narrowed my eyes. He was very stubborn, but I wasn't going to let him win. "Just swim over there and you'll be done for the day."

"No."

"I'll buy you a cookie," I thought that would work, but he only gave me a weird look. "Okay, fine. We can stay here in the cold water until you swim over there." He looked over the edge of the pool, then tried the climb over. I grabbed him and pulled I'm back down. He huffed, "Fine, but I want that cookie."

"Deal."

He swam back over to the ladder and climbed out, I followed him.

"So, after you get me my cookie, what are we going to do today?" Nico asked. "Um, I actually have an idea. Remember that date I promised?"

...

Nico and I walked in Krispy Kreme. "What do you want?" I asked once we got to the counter. "Chocolate milk and... a chocolate glazed donut."

After we made our order, we sat down at a small table. The busy streets of New York were seen through the large window beside us. "I haven't been here in awhile," I said. "Me either."

His cheek caught my eye, the small bruise looked a lot better. I've seen Clayton in the locker room at school, his nose seemed to be broken. The look on Nico's face when he saw that said it all, he was proud of what he did.

"You know, I never knew you could play basketball. When did you learn?" Nico shrugged, "when I was little, Bianca and I played at the park. I guess it's just experience." His face became hard and unreadable. I knew his past was sensitive, so I left those questions alone. "How is your donut?"

He got a donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles. "Really good. The milk is too." I smiled, chocolate milk always went better with donuts than coffee. I remember the night before, I spent hours on thinking the best place for our first date. Nico really seemed to like his donut, so I didn't think I made a mistake.

"So, what do you want to do after high school?" He took a sip of his milk before replying, "I'm gonna go to college and get the basic courses done. That's all I've thought about for now, but I'm still thinking about it."

"You think about this stuff a lot? I usually don't, but my mom was talking to Paul about my college funds this morning, so I figured I better start thinking about it." Nico nodded and finished his donut. He wiped his face of chocolate icing.

"Do you have your learner's permit yet?" I asked. "Not yet. I just turned fifteen in January, and my dad hasn't had the time to take me over for the test."

"Oh, well the test is pretty easy. Common knowledge. I would offer to teach you to drive, but it took me four tries to get my license." He raised his eyebrows, "you couldn't have told me that before I got in your car?" I shrugged, "we haven't had a wreck yet, have we?"

...

Nico and I went up to his room. It was a little after 12:00 and we decided to watch a movie. "Thanks for the donuts," Nico said. I smiled, "no problem. I had fun." He made a small smile, "I did too." His face looked thoughtful, then became unreadable.

His phone rang from his back pocket. "Hold on, it's my dad. Go downstairs, there's popcorn in the cabinet."

Nico answered his phone and I left the room. Hazel was in the kitchen, she smiled when she saw me. "Hey Percy, what are you doing here?"

"Nico and I are watching a movie. He sent me down here to get popcorn." She set her drink down, "I'll get it for you." She pulled out a box of popcorn packets out of the cabinet.

"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately." She said and put a packet in the microwave. "Yeah, we have..." Hazel leaned against the counter, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "Percy, you know I love you, but if you hurt my brother-"

"Oh you know I wouldn't hurt your brother." I leaned against the counter beside her. "You really do like him, don't you?" I stared at the floor and slowly nodded my head, "I do."

"Good, then you have my permission to continue to date him." I smiled at her, "thanks." The microwave beeped behind us and Hazel got a big bowl.

I took the bowl of popcorn up to Nico's room. Nico was still on the phone with his dad. "I'll be okay. I know, I just worry about you. Okay... I love you too. Bye." Nico hung up and turned to see me at the door.

"Hi, are you okay?" He cleared his throat, "yeah, I'm fine." He took the popcorn out of my hands and went to the bed. I wanted to make sure he was okay, but it was a private conversation I shouldn't have heard, so I wasn't going to push him.

Nico turned on Netflix and laid down with the bowl on his stomach. I laid down as well, giving him a kiss on his cheek before fully settling against the pillow.

The popcorn lasted one movie, but that was enough. Nico pulled the blanket around us and settled back down, a little closer to me. I wrapped my arm around his waist. He moved closer, laying his head under my chin. And that's how we stayed for several hours.

After a few movies, I remembered to call my mom. "Hey Percy, where are you?"

"I'm at Nico's. We're watching a movie." I really didn't want to leave. Nico's bed was warm, and I was comfortable in the position I was in.

"You can stay the night if you want" Nico offered. The idea seemed great to me, "do you mind if I stay the night over here? It's not a school night."

"Um, Percy I don't know about that. Will you be sleeping in the same bed?" I cleared my throat, "mom, we've been together for a week."

Nico pursed his lips and moved over a few inches. She sighed, "I guess you could. Goodnight baby I love you."

"Thank you, I love you too." I hung up and set my phone on the nightstand. "Uh, sorry about that." He glanced at me, then looked away. "It's okay."

I shifted a little under the blanket, "where am I going to sleep tonight?"

He shrugged, "you can sleep in here with me if you want to."

"Okay, thanks." I found his hand and tangled my fingers with his. I scooted closer to him, and we stayed like that for the rest of the movie.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 20

(Nico's POV)

2 Months Later

I sat at the dinner table, listening to Dad talk about our trip. "I want you both to be up by 5:30. Our plane leaves at 7:00 and we can't miss it." He stopped for a second, then sighed. "Is he still staying?"

Percy and I told my dad we were together when he got back from his business trip. He wasn't angry, if anything he was confused. When Percy left that night, he asked a series of questions like "Why him?" and "What happened to that Solace boy?"

"Yes, he is." Percy and I thought it was a good idea for him to stay for the night, then leave when we leave in the morning. My dad hesitantly agreed, only if Percy was sleeping on the floor and the door had to be open. But something told me he wouldn't mind making Percy sleep on the porch.

"That's fine, but lights out by nine."

...

The last day of school went by quickly. We got our exams back, but that's really it. Will's relationship with Jake still was going smoothly. The three of us started sitting with Percy's group at lunch. I got used to Jason, but Leo got on my nerves.

For the last lunch of the school year, we had sandwiches in sack lunches. Ham and cheese wasn't my favorite, but I got a cookie with it so it wasn't that bad. "When are you getting back from your trip?" Jason asked. Hazel was the one who answered, "next Tuesday."

"Send me a postcard," Leo said from a few seats down.

"I'm still staying with you tonight, right?" Percy and I had sleepovers often, but mostly at his house. My dad always tried to make dinner as awkward as possible. "If you want to, nothing has changed."

"Okay, we'll stop by my house to get my clothes." I nodded, then crumpled up the wrapper from my sandwich.

The last hours flew by, people walked around, getting other students to sign their yearbooks. I patiently watched the clock, knowing when the time ran out, I'll no longer be a sophomore.

Percy and I hopped in his car. Excited, screaming students ran through the parking lot to get to their cars as well. "Hey, you wanna do something to celebrate the last day?"

"Like what?" I asked, watching the road through the windshield. "Well, we could go swimming." I smiled, Percy and I had been swimming together for fun ever since I completed my lessons.

"Sure, why not." Percy smiled back and drove over to his apartment. I watched him pack his clothes for the night at my house and his swim clothes. "I don't have my swim trunks," I said. "Here, you can borrow a pair of mine."

He handed me a pair of red swim trunks with a green strip around the bottom of them. "Thanks." Borrowing things like that wasn't a big deal to me anymore. The first time he stayed the night, he had to wear a pair of my boxers.

When we got to the activity center, Percy and I paid for an hour in the pool. "You wanna race?" I rolled my eyes, "you'd win, like usual." He laughed, "oh come on, please?" I sighed, "fine."

We raced down the deep pool together, my swimming was fast, but not as good as Percy's. He beats me by about seven seconds. "Io vinco!" he said in victory. I finally reached the edge, "non era giusto."

"How was it not fair? I beat you." I narrowed my eyes, "you've had tons of practice."

"Yeah, and you know how? Racing faster people." My glare fell, he had a point. "Fine, but it's still not fair."

We swam around for the rest of the hour. At one point, Percy turned the racing into playful splashing and random kisses. "Come on, our hour's up," I said and made my way to the ladder.

"When you get back, we're doing this again" Percy declared as he followed me out of the water. "Will do."

Percy wasn't any less playful in the locker room. He tried to dry my hair for me, chased me around with a wet towel, and tried to tickle me more than once. "What is with you today?" I asked as we left the locker room. "I'm in a good mood since it's the last day of school, and I want to have fun with you before you leave."

"Well, we can try to have fun while I pack, but I doubt dinner would be something to look forward to." Percy's smile faltered, dinner with my dad was always the toughest part to go through. "It's fine, I'll be careful with what I say this time." My dad also liked to take things Percy said out of context. "Or maybe, you just not talk during dinner."

...

Not talking during dinner didn't work so well. Halfway through the awkward time eating chicken alfredo, my dad decided to start picking on Percy again. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Uh, what do you want me to talk about?" My father shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. What do you want to talk about?" Percy's eyes searched the table for something to say. I decided to step in, "what about the plan for tomorrow morning?"

Percy sent me a grateful look. My dad sighed, "well, we'll all get up at about 5:30, and hopefully leave by 6:15." He looked between Hazel and me, "are you two packed?" Hazel nodded, she had been preparing for the trip all week.

"Not completely," I said, "I'm still waiting for a load of clothes in the dryer." He nodded, "after dinner, finish packing everything. Go through the checklist and make sure you don't go over the bag limit." He looked back over at Percy, "so, what do you do with my son to keep him out of the house for so long?"

After dinner, Percy left the table as fast as he could. I got my clothes from the dryer and met him in my room. "I just have to fold these clothes, then I'll be ready to pack."

"Why do you have to fold your clothes? I just throw them in there."

"I would do that, but it makes more room." I can only bring a suitcase and a small handbag on the plane. Space was limited. I packed my clothes, my phone charger, a book I was reading, and a few other things I would need.

My dad came in to see if I was packed yet. "Make sure you get your toothbrush in the morning," he said as he checked over what I already had. He looked over at Percy, "you know you're sleeping on the floor, right?"

Percy nodded weakly, "yes Sir, that was made very clear." My dad smiled, "good. Well, I guess that's it. I'm going to bed, lights out at nine." He patted Percy on the shoulder on his way out. "The floor," he said to him again. Percy nodded quickly, "got it."

I smiled and shook my head, "sorry he's giving you a hard time." Percy shrugged it off, "it's fine."

I set my bags down by the wall and Percy started making his pallet. "You know, you can sleep with me. He won't find out." He didn't look so sure, but I pulled him in my bed anyways. "I'll set my alarm clock at about 4:30, so then you can move to the floor before he gets up."

"Thank you," he said, followed by a kiss.

We laid down together and pulled the blankets up around us. He kissed me again and whispered, "do we really have to get up at 4:30?" I shook my head, "no, just move to the floor and you can sleep there. I really doubt you want to be caught in the bed with me."

His face shown it all, he really didn't want that. I gave him a small smile and another kiss.

The small kisses turned into something more than that. It wasn't our first time, though.

After that, we both fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21

Percy's POV

I helped them put everything in the car. I was kinda sad about Nico leaving for a week, but he would be back. He gave me a hug and a kiss, "I'll see you when I get back."

"Nico," I looked in his eyes through the dawn lighting. "Ti amo."

His eyes widened. It was the first time I said I loved him. After two months with him, I knew for sure I did. He took in a deep breath, "you do?" I nodded, "yeah."

"Ti amo anch'io" he said, making me smile harder.

I pulled him closer, "have fun on your trip. And don't be eaten by a shark." He narrowed his eyes at me, a smile still played on his lips. I kissed him again. "Time to go Nico. Our plane is leaving soon." Nico sighed, "I'll see you in about a week. Love you."

"Love you too."

He walked around the car and got in the front seat. Hazel waved out the window from the back. I waved back at her. "Have fun Mr. di Angelo," I said. "Bye," he said and shut the car door. I saw Nico glare at his dad.

I stood there, under the orange sky and watched as their car slowly disappeared down the road.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you liked the story. Please tell me how it was and point out any mistakes. Thank you for reading :D

**Author's Note:**

> How was it?


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